- Jean Gran-Aymerich –
Thus, in their considerable majority, the Etruscan exports to the south of France were
discovered in settlements, but we note also their presence in contexts both funerary and
votive. Certain aristocratic tombs of the local populations contain Etruscan ceramics
with associated metalwork, such as the tumulus of Agnel at Pertuis, the necropolis of
Saint-Julien at Pézenas, or again at Cayla de Mailhac. The tombs of Etruscans per se are
not attested, but certain tombs near Lattes do suggest them: thus the tomb containing
a strigil and a bossed-rim basin.^28 Several fi nds correspond to Etruscan offerings (the
inscription of Saint-Blaise, the Etruscan amphora of the grotto of Caunes-Minervois,
probably the inscribed bronze from Ampurias) or diplomatic gifts (the inscription on the
Greek amphora from Marseille).
Alternatively, the shipwrecks with cargoes of Etruscan amphorae and vases discovered
in southern France reveal the magnitude of Etruscan mercantile enterprises, even if one
equivocates still on the identifi cation of the ships and their crews, whether Etruscans or
Greeks.^29 Nevertheless, the existence of Etruscan entrepreneurs appears quite likely, as it
pertains to homogeneous cargoes of Etruscan provenance, as is the case of the shipwrecks
of Antibes, of Écueil du Miet 3, and of Grand Ribaud F. The Grand Ribaud F (Fig.
17.9) dating to the end of the sixth century, is of particular interest, not only for the
possibilities offered by the wreck’s state of preservation, lying at 90 meters deep, but also
Figure 17.8 Votive deposit of one Etruscan amphora and one Phoenician amphora,
of the type “Area del Estrecho” (Gibraltar area), from the cave-sanctuary of Caunes-Minervois,
Aude. First half of the sixth century. (photo G.-A.).Figure 17.9 Shipwreck of Grand Ribaud F (East of Marseille), cargo of Etruscan amphorae
(photo G.-A.).