- Ingrid Edlund-Berry –
Figure 27.4 Orvieto, Belvedere temple. Photo: Ingrid Edlund-Berry.depositions of pottery and small objects, evidence for sacrifi ce, and even production of
pottery or metals may suggest actions that continued for a long time in areas visited or
inhabited from the Bronze Age into historic times. Even though it may be presumptuous
to call these early inhabitants “Etruscans,” their practices, and, in particular, the location
of their practices, often coincide with later documented Etruscan sanctuaries, as seen, for
example, at Pian di Civita in the ancient city of Tarquinia.^15
Sacred places in nature did not depend on any particular group of people, language,
or culture, and seem to have existed from the time of the fi rst human presence in ancient
Italy. While caves and springs provide essential shelter and water for both people and
animals, they were also used as the sites for deposits of modest offerings of pottery or
metals. Landmarks such as mountains and hilltops give travelers direction, but are also
connecting points between the land and the heavens, and become centers of worship (for
example, Mount Soracte, Fig. 27.5).
As the Etruscans (and their Iron Age predecessors) settled throughout Etruria, the
places chosen were for the most part on isolated hilltops or on clusters of hills. Some
of these may already have been considered sacred, but as settlements they became
equipped with places of worship within the urban community. While we traditionally
think of Etruscan sanctuaries as dominated by temples (see below), an urban sacred place
(sanctuary) could be identifi ed by the presence of votive offerings or an altar, perhaps as a
remnant of a sacred place in nature.^16
Because of the location of Etruscan settlements, the natural formation of a hilltop
provided an obvious boundary or defense against that which is outside and not belonging
to the community. Where the natural boundary did not exist or needed to be further
accentuated, manmade walls with gates provided a visual (as well as strategic) point of
transition, and as such came under the divine protection of extramural sanctuaries.^17 Such
sanctuaries were placed in close proximity to the city boundaries, and could range in form
from a temple complex (Portonaccio temple at Veii) to places for votive offerings.
As defi ned by the landscape or by smaller settlements, major Etruscan cities included
a surrounding territory with extra-urban sanctuaries that were politically and culturally
dependent on the city. These included the roadside sanctuaries that served various