- chapter 17: Etruria Marittima –
Carthage at the beginning of the twentieth century ad, there is the statuette salvaged
amidst the contents of the cisterns of Dar-Seniat, to the south of Sidi Bou-Saïd, which we
have recently re-evaluated.^73 Here, a young woman in frontal pose wears a tight chiton,
which she holds to the side in her left hand; she holds forward her right hand, palm down
(Fig. 17.12). It is a fi ne product of Etruria, dating to the end of the sixth or the beginning
of the fi fth century, which might be associated with a workshop in southern Etruria,
Caere or Veii, or possibly northern Etruria, perhaps Volterra. The votive character of this
statuette is evident, and the most likely hypothesis is that it comes from a sanctuary from
which the discards served as fi ll in the Roman cisterns. Other such debris from favissae
have emerged from the edge of Bordj-Djedid and the necropolis of Sainte Monique.^74
The statuette from Dar-Seniat depicts the female donor, and is associated with the cult
of a feminine deity, such as Uni-Turan, Venus-Aphrodite, or Astarte, whom we might
connect with a fountain-sanctuary identifi ed near where the statuette was discovered.^75
The presence at Carthage of this offering, clearly that of an Etruscan lady, corresponds to
a moment of heightened diplomatic relations between Caere and Carthage at the end of
the sixth century and at the dawn of the fi fth. Aristotle’s citation (Politics 3.5.10–11) of a
formal treaty maintained between Carthage and “the Etruscans” (we do not know which
cities) attests the high level of economic importance in these relationships; the objects
identifi ed hint at the individuals who must have administered the treaties’ provisions.
The Southern Iberian PeninsulaThe relations, real or supposed, between Etruria and the Iberian Peninsula have sparked
numerous works following different disciplines (philological, stylistic, archaeological), for
which we have elsewhere established a historiographic chronology.^76 Certain propositions,
such as the hypothetical infl uence on the iconography and architecture of Iberia, have been
abandoned (as for the ramparts of Tarragona) or have not received formal confi rmation.^77
The Etruscan discoveries from the Iberian Peninsula rather often incite perplexity and
hypercritical attitudes, inspired by ignorance of the general context of the hinterland
and the littorals, of the Atlantic coast, and of the Mediterranean, both in southern
Figure 17.12 Carthage, zone of Dar-Seniat, statuette of young woman offering.
Beginning of the fi fth century. (Gran-Aymerich 2008a).