- chapter 37: Villanovan and Etruscan mining and metallurgy –
Montieri (Andrée 1922). Even for the ancient Etruscan period our knowledge of mines
is scarce: in the nineteenth century, as a result of new extraction on an industrial scale, in
many places the remains of ancient workings were observed, such as the island of Elba,
in the area of Populonia, in the Campiglia region, in Massa Marittima, Montecatini,
the Apuan Alps, and Tolfa Mountains. Some of them were probably linked to medieval
activities, others to the Etruscan or proto-historical periods (Simonin 1858; Badii, 1931;
Tanelli 1985: 37) (Fig. 37.7).
The better-known and better-investigated workings are those of Campiglia, although
the paucity of actual archaeological excavations makes it diffi cult to distinguish between
the activity of medieval times (tenth-fourteenth century ad) and that of the Etruscan
period (seventh-fi rst century bc), also taking into account the similarity in mining
techniques and the reuse of the oldest pits in later periods (Cascone, Casini 1998). The
Etruscan mines often appear to be pits that follow the mineralized veins; the mouth gives
direct access to vertical shafts. The excavations sometimes reached a depth of more than
120 meters from the opening. The pits were connected by short horizontal galleries,
between 80 cm and two meters high. Occasionally the pits opened into large rooms that
also exploited natural underground cavities. Traces of tools were detected on the rock;
they were produced mainly by iron picks. On the walls, small niches held the oil-lamps.
The miners had to live in villages near the mining areas, such as the one excavated near
the lake of Lago dell’Accesa in the territory of Vetulonia, a settlement that has furnished,
in addition to the remains of several buildings, some groups of tombs (Camporeale et al.
1985: 128–130).
THE CENTERS OF METALLURGY
The Villanovan periodThe importance of metallurgy in Etruria is evident from the Late Bronze Age, as shown
by the hoards of metal objects found in the region. In the Iron Age, the large quantity and
variety of metal artifacts are refl ected, in addition to the hoards, in the tomb offerings.
Among the hoards, the San Francesco hoard in Bologna stands out; it was deposited in
Figure 37.7 Remains of ancient mines at Campo alle Buche (Campiglia Marittima, Livorno).