- chapter 19: Etruscan goods in the Mediterranean world –
the western Mediterranean, where such goods, utterly lacking votive characteristics, were
found in domiciles, necropoleis and shipwrecks. The dossier of Etruscan votive objects in
the west has benefi tted recently from an inquiry which has permitted us to re-evaluate
these ancient fi nds, such as at Carthage for the statuette of Dar Seniat, and at the sanctuary
of La Algaida at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, for the fi gurine forming part of a
tripod or other bronze furniture, and likewise the Etruscan amphora in the grotto deposit
near Caunes-Minervois. Several exceptional Etruscan bronzes are also now considered to
have been offerings, such as the griffi n from the inscribed tripod at Empúries (temple
sector of Aesculapius), the despotes therōn handle from Malaga (at the foot of the Alcazaba),
or the palmette handle from the deepest levels of the sanctuary of Fâ at Barzan in Gironde
(Fig. 19.13). In the interior of Gaul we have the fi gurine from the sanctuary at Fontaines-
Salées (or possibly nearer to Vézelay according to some indicators) in Burgundy, which has
been included in the tentative dossier of Etruscan statuettes without context from Gaul.^123
Two exceptional inscriptions pertain to this dossier of offerings: one is a dedication in
the Etruscan language but written in Greek characters inscribed upon the foot of an
Attic cup from Saint-Blaise, which, according to G. Colonna, is addressed to the goddess
Uni.^124 The other inscription, this time in Etruscan characters, appears upon a Massaliot
amphora discovered at Marseille, at the Collège Vieux Port site, and is considered to be a
diplomatic gift for a group of notables.^125
Finally, on the Languedoc littoral, there is the utterly extraordinary deposit of an
Etruscan amphora and a Phoenician amphora (Fig. 17.8) in a rich context of metal
offerings (including a headband of a gold-silver alloy decorated with granulation), at the
grotto sanctuary of Roc de Buffens near Caunes-Minervois (Aude), at the entry to the
Aquitaine corridor (Fig. 17.1).^126
Funerary ensemblesIn temperate Europe and in the western Mediterranean, the presence of Etruscan objects
amongst high status tombs is attested for a long duration, from the seventh through to
the fourth centuries. For such a space and for such an extent of time, it is evident that the
content and distribution of the various assemblages will vary according to place and time.
Figure 19.13 Handle attachment with palmette from large bronze basin, from the sanctuary of Fâ,
Barzan, Charente-Maritime. End of the fi fth to the beginning of the fourth century.
(Gran-Aymerich 2009).