- chapter 19: Etruscan goods in the Mediterranean world –
Etruscan infundibula (strainers) appear in very far-fl ung regions: in the eastern
Mediterranean at Argos (Heraion), Olympia (Sanctuary of Zeus), Lindos (Rhodes) and
up to the coast of the Black Sea (Pantikapaion, Kertch). To the south, they appear
in the Maghreb, at Cyrene (Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone). North of the
Alps, they have come from the deposit in Arbedo (Switzerland). To the extreme west,
several examples are known from the Iberian littoral: Empúries, Ullastret, Poble Nou
(Vila Joiosa-Villajoyosa, Alacant-Alicante), and from underwater fi nds at Xabia-Jávea
(Alacant-Alicante) and from the shipwreck of Cala S. Vicenç (Balearics). The interior of
the Iberian Peninsula has also revealed several of these objects, at Mirador de Rolando
and Izanalloz (Granada), Alcurrucén (Cordoba), with two examples coming from Cancho
Roano (Badajoz) (Fig. 17.15).^66
The small cheese-grater, gratuccia, used to fl avor wine, is a characteristic utensil among
Etruscan banquet utensils (see also Chapter 6, Fig. 6.5; Chapter 43, Fig. 43.6). Such objects
have come to light in southern France (oppidum of La Cloche, Les Pennes-Mirabeau) and
at Empúries.^67 South of the Ebro, in the little oppidum of Oral (San Fulgencio, Alacant-
Alicante), a gratuccia and a small olpe in bronze were also found.^68
Concerning those banquet items associated with cooking, to the north of the Alps,
iron andirons and spits have been found; the custom of depositing them in tombs seems
to derive from Etruscan infl uence.^69 In the Celtic world, the monumentalization of
princely tombs in the sixth century goes hand in hand with a profusion of bronze goods
placed in the funerary chambers, goods which – as with the Etruscans and probably
under their infl uence – create the atmosphere of a banquet hall.^70 North of the Alps, a so-
called harpago (once equated with a meat-hook, now identifi ed as a torch-holder) has been
identifi ed at Gornja Radgona/Radkersburg, probably as further evidence of banqueting
or other night-time ceremonies.^71
Ceramic fi ne waresEtruscan ceramic wares are practically absent from the continental hinterland, as well as
the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. Several possible examples are uncertain or remain
unverifi able.^72 The presence of cups and oinochoai of the Etruscan-Corinthian type seems
to be confi rmed at Stična in Slovenia, while an Etrusco-Corinthian olpe from Haguenau
retains the benefi t of the doubt.^73 Bucchero kantharoi would have been introduced to the
region of Toulouse by way of the isthmus of Aquitaine, and via the Rhône corridor up
to the region of Lyons. Adaptations of Etruscan kantharoi into the local grey and black
wares have been identifi ed at Marseille itself, at many sites in Provence, and towards the
interior up to the region of Lyons, at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, and in Burgundy at
Camp-de-Chassey (see Fig. 19.11).^74 Finally, adaptations in local black ware of Etruscan
oinochoai have come to light in the region of Carcassonne and in Burgundy in the latest
excavations of the large apsidal building in antis (the “Princess palace”) at Mont Lassois.^75
Further east bucchero vases with Chiusine-style reliefs have been discovered, although
these are still in need of confi rmation. These derive from fi nds from Lauriacum in Enns
(near Lorch by the Upper Danube), and from Alte Gleisberg (near Jena in Thuringia).^76
On the Mediterranean rim, in contrast to the interior, Etruscan ceramics are amply
distributed. The primary object dispersed in this maritime diffusion is the bucchero
kantharos, found in Anatolia and Syria, Greece and Egypt, all the way to the Atlantic
façade of Iberia in Huelva.^77 In truth, we do not know of a single site bearing archaic