- Hilary Becker –
a public building. We know from Cicero that in Late Republican Rome public records
(tabulae publicae) were not stored in the senate house, but were kept in private homes.^89
That private buildings could take on a public function certainly underscores, again, the
role of the principes within their community. And while this circumstance does not solve
the problem of puzzling out whether there were public buildings in Etruria, it informs us
that, at least on this one point, a public building such as an archive might not have been
needed. These two inscriptions, along with their tular marker peers, also give insight
into property law, and permit us to consider the nature of Etruscan property law and
when it developed. Important to this consideration is the knowledge that one aspect of
the etrusca disciplina was a liber iuris Terrae Etruriae, literally a “book of the law of the land
of Etruria”.^90 Nothing is known about this book, or whether there were any other books
addressing different legal concerns. This question naturally can extend beyond the etrusca
disciplina and be applied to the political world of the Etruscans. Did the magistrates pass
laws, similar to law codes like the Twelve Tables from contemporary Rome? Ancient
authors do refer to Etruscan laws in passing but there is much still that we would like to
know about the coverage of Etruscan law.^91 Were there provisions for debt bondage and
slaves, citizenship, and inheritance?
There may have been laws or regulations regarding commerce (consider the
aforementioned weight from Caere) and an important inscription sheds light on this. The
Pech Maho contract, found beyond Etruria (in Languedoc), refl ects two contracts – one
written in Etruscan, and the other, written on the reverse side, in Greek.^92 The contracts
are similar in that they both list the individuals conveying goods and a location involved
(Massalia and Emporion, respectively). Both documents are written so that the goods
and corresponding payment for which can be tracked, such that both mention a down
payment.^93 The Greek contract, which is better preserved, has two lists of Iberian witnesses
present for two transactions. It is not clear whether the Etruscan version had that same
degree of juridical formality.^94 But like the Cippus of Perugia and the Tabula Cortonensis,
this contract deals with property, property that is important enough to be written down
(zik which compares with similar formulae on the other contracts).^95 It is hoped that future
fi nds of inscriptions may shed even more light on what matters were worthy of making
contracts and further, what magistrates and citizens were involved in the law. One fi nal
question remains, since we have considered the territorial application of magistracies, and
that is, what was the territorial application of laws and contracts – e.g. did the liber iuris
Terrae Etruriae apply to all of Etruria, or did it vary from city-state to city-state?
ETRUSCAN LEAGUEAs much as we have been interested in defi ning the boundaries of Etruria, it is worthwhile
to explore, fi nally, the one regular occasion when the boundaries were less important. The
Fanum Voltumnae, or shrine of Voltumna, was a pan-Etruscan shrine where an annual
religious festival was held.^96 Leading men from all over Etruria (principes ex omnibus
populis) would meet at the Fanum Voltumnae.^97 The festival consisted of sacral activities,
games, and an opportunity for members of various city-states to talk. It is very likely
that marketing also occurred in this pan-Etruscan meeting place, much like at Lucus
Feroniae.^98 When Livy mentions that the Romans learned of a particular meeting of the
Fanum Voltumnae and its potential implications, the Romans learn of this event from the
mercatores who were there.^99