- chapter 18: Political systems and law –
Figure 18.2 Bronze weight with a lead center from Caere (Sant’Antonio). Dated from the fourth
century to fi rst part of the third century bce. Villa Giulia Museum. After Maggiani 2001c, Fig. 35.Figure 18.3 A miniature model of the fasces, in iron, from the Tomba del Littore, Vetulonia. End of the
seventh century bce. Photo: H. Becker. Museo Archeologico di Firenze.also have been a part of a particular magistrate’s purview. In this relief from Chiusi, two
magistrates (recognizable because of their curved staffs) sit on a dais to judge contests;
they are fl anked by a lictor who holds rods and guards the wineskins used as prizes (Fig.
18.4).^49 Whether these games, as depicted, are civic in nature or were held for a funeral
(consider the many games decorating Etruscan tomb paintings of the Archaic and early
Classical periods) is open to speculation, but what is interesting here is that the offi cials
were accompanied not only by a lictor but also by a scribe who recorded the winners.
Other magisterial duties might have included minting coins, managing markets, and
even a task with combined religious-political import such as managing the calendar.
Local magistrates may also have administered the Etruscan road network. The roads of
cities such as Volsinii Veteres, Veii or Falerii Veteres are some of the most easily detected
Etruscan roads because they were carved out of the tufo bedrock (Fig. 18.5). The roads