- chapter 29: Tarquinia, Sacred areas and sanctuaries –
seems to be very close to the treatment of the sacred space according to the principles
of the Etrusca Disciplina (division, delimitation and orientation) that also emerge from
the epigraphic documentation of the Italian peninsula. A cross that is inscribed in a
circle seems to evoke the above-mentioned fundamental concepts of the Etruscan sacred
space thanks to its relation to the object on which it is inscribed.^8 Such signs, probably
used for their immediate visual eloquence, are called sigla and bear meanings that can
be compared, in terms of communication, to those produced by proper writing^9 (Fig.
29.5). Also in the “monumental complex,” from the transition between the Villanovan
and Orientalizing periods up to the Hellenistic, pottery is often marked with such sigla.
Figure 29.4 Tarquinia, “monumental complex,” the location of the altars focusing on the natural
cavity in the center. Courtesy of Università degli Studi di Milano, “Progetto Tarquinia” archive.Figure 29.5 Tarquinia, “monumental complex,” “impasto” shard with a cross inscribed in a circle.
Courtesy of Università degli Studi di Milano, “Progetto Tarquinia,” archive.