- Gilda Bartoloni –
Figure 5.10 Enotrian juglet from Vulci (after M. Torelli, A. M. Sgubini Moretti, Etruschi. Le antiche
metropoli del Lazio, Rome, 2008, photo Soprintendenza archeologica per l’Etruria meridionale).In the funeral ritual children are separated from the adult world because, as in life,
they could not be considered active members of the community, with the exception
of some depositions, almost always with rich offerings, where family ties have taken
precedence over the rules. At Veii, in the Quattro Fontanili necropolis, some depositions
identifi ed as children’s were accompanied by weapons and other items indicating that
they undoubtedly belonged to a privileged line of descent in which lineage was more
important than age, supporting the hypothesis that in death people often become what
they were not in life.
Regarding the territorial layout, some rich tombs found in the countryside, outside the
usual necropoleis, declare the desire to exhibit the acquisition of farmland by members
of the aristocracy, and foreshadow the rise of many settlements scattered throughout the
territory. This phenomenon that began in the eighth century bc asserts itself at the end
of the century and especially during the early decades of the seventh century bc, probably
following some sort of occupation of the land by large urban centers. Certainly it cannot
be called a spontaneous phenomenon, but is rather an organized peopling of the landscape.
The analysis of funerary ideology and of the typology of ceramic and metallic artifacts can
indicate the different areas that correspond to the territories of the major cities.
The establishment of a hierarchy of stable and complex settlements from the mid/
late eighth century bc represents a clear change in the history of the landscape. With
the establishment of new settlements, we are seeing a turnaround in the terms of use
of the territory compared to the situation that had arisen with the emergence of large
proto-urban arrangements. The settlements reoccupy the territories that appear to have
been abandoned in the early Iron Age, but it is now clear that a hierarchical relationship
remained between the major and minor settlements. The impetus towards more
systematic organization of the rural areas must be attributed to politically centralized
institutions, which had to be the major Villanovan centers. This phenomenon has been
linked to the emergence of a genuine agricultural nobility.
The ruling class shows that it consolidated its wealth, not only based on land
ownership, but also on trade, understood in the broadest sense, including oppressive