Giuseppe Sassatelli and Elisabetta G ovi
Cortona and Pyrgi. Analogous with what happened in most of the Tyrrhenian centers,
from the ninth century bc on, in Bologna also the population is concentrated in at least
three villages, topographically distinct, already gathering around the area of the future
historic city. During the first half of the eighth century BC one of these villages, the one
closest to the hills, becomes the fulcrum of a single settlement that is already proto-urban
in character, extending over 200 hectares, but still sparsely occupied. The inhabited area
is bordered by two rivers and around it are placed the necropoleis according to a spatial
organization, which already requires the ability for long-term planning (Fig. 15.3). The
sparse population of the valley during the earlier Bronze Age makes one think that the
rapid emergence of the great center of Bologna is due to the arrival of the Etruscans
from the Tyrrhenian (the first colonization event). In fact, it is possible to recognize the
economic and commercial conditions of the phenomenon in some sites of the Bronze
Age, such as Frattesina (Fratta Polesine-Rovigo), which are already integrated into the
great circuits designed for the supply of metals and basic materials sent out on one side
to the Aegean and from the other towards Tyrrhenian Etruria. It is therefore likely that
the formation of the proto-city of Bologna between the ninth and eighth centuries bc is
due to local people, albeit with the participation of Etruscan elements that came from
the Tyrrhenian. In the eighth century BC, after an initial period of adjustment the village
began a process of gradual conquest of a vast surrounding area used for an extensive type
of agriculture devoted mainly to crops like cereals. This expansion was not immune to
conflict with other entities, as confirmed by Livy (5.34.9) who relates the story of the
battle of the Ticino, fought by the Etruscans and Gauls in the time of Tarquinius Priscus,
evidence of an ancient conflict between groups who resided near the Po. Useful testimony
in this regard is the stone funerary cippus (late seventh century bc) found in Rubiera (in
western Emilia), on which an inscription mentions the zilath, a “military leader” of a
border community certainly controlled by Bologna.
We are poorly informed on the internal organization of the city of Bologna, especially
in this earliest phase (eighth to seventh century bc), but we know that along the northern
border an imposing agger (defensive earthwork) flanked by ditches was built. Inside, the
settlement was laid out in part with large groups of huts, initially separated by wide open
spaces intended primarily for agriculture. Already at this stage a consistent metallurgical
activity is well documented, as demonstrated by the hoard of Piazza San Francesco, closed
Figure 15.3 Map of Etruscan Bologna (Dipartimento di Archeologia di Bologna).Tombe dilX -VI secok) a.C.
Tombedi VI- IV secolo a.C.