CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

VILLANOVAN AND ETRUSCAN MINING

AND METALLURGY

Claudio Giardino

E

truria is rightly considered one of the main metallurgical centers of the ancient world.
Its fame is due both to the rich metal ore deposits throughout the Tyrrhenian region
and to the abundance of metallic objects that were recovered from burial grounds, from
hoards and from settlements, from the end of the Bronze Age onward. This prosperity
is particularly evident in the tombs of Caere, Tarquinia, Vulci, Populonia and Vetulonia
and was linked to the control exercised by these centers on the mining areas and on trade
in raw materials to Europe and the Mediterranean (Banti 1969: 46–47, 64, 184–185;
Pallottino 1973: 129–131; Camporeale 1985: 29–33). Etruscan craftsmanship enjoyed
a high reputation in antiquity: in the mid-fi fth century bc candelabra and other bronze
objects of Etruscan manufacture constituted sought-after furnishings for the fi nest
Greek houses (Pherekrates and Kritias, quoted by Athenaeus, Deipnosophistai 15. 60.700
c, 1.50.286). Despite this, research on aspects of production, such as the exploitation
of mines, ore smelting and manufacturing of metal items was largely neglected until
recently by concerted archaeological research.

THE TECHNIQUES

Since the Final Bronze Age, metal technology had reached very high levels, as is evident
from the refi ned repoussé decoration that appears on cups, pendants and fi bulae in the
hoard of Coste del Marano (Tolfa). Whether in the Villanovan or Orientalizing period,
the centers of Etruria produced sophisticated metal artifacts in bronze, silver and gold.
The Etruscan technical experts were able to master metallurgical techniques,
producing works of high artistic value. Skill in the use of lost-wax casting is attested by
many bronzes, including fi gurines (Fig. 37.1) and the few statues that have come down
to us, such as the Chimaera of Arezzo or the Mars of Todi. But we know that these works
had once been very numerous: according to Pliny, the sack of Volsinii alone, in 264 bc,
yielded to the Romans 2,000 bronze statues (Nat. Hist. 34.16.34).
Excellent examples of chiseling are provided by the mirrors on the surface of which
were often engraved complex mythological scenes (Fig. 37.2). The art of toreutics has