- chapter 41: Princely chariots and carts –
Etruscan and Latin representations of racing chariots. This might be due to the fact
that at the beginning of the sixth century bc, around 580, the technology employed by
the wheelwrights of the preceding generations is updated to meet the needs of a new
elite, for whom the ideological bond between the possession of a chariot and its military
function, of Near Eastern origin, has now been weakened. A suggestion proposed for the
reconstruction of the Dutuit Chariot of Capua (Emiliozzi 2006a; see Chapter 16), dated
around 580 bc, illustrates the advanced phase of the “gestation” of the sixth-century bc
parade chariot type with U-shaped sides, for which the construction of the Monteleone
Chariot seems to have established the canon.
In the fast chariots the fl oor frame is always affi xed directly to the axle and to the
draft pole. The union of the three parts forms a rigid line meaning the vehicle can be
ridden only by applying a woven tongue fl ooring, which is meant to absorb the effects
of bouncing during the march, as noted above. In the parade chariots a complex system
of joining between the fl oor frame and the axle is reconstructed instead, acting as shock
absorber (Figs. 41.13, 41.14). Such a system must be employed in cases where the fl oor
it not made of woven strips, but is a rigid surface, which could be made of wooden slats.
Figure 41.12 Chariot procession depicted on terracotta friezes of Veii-Rome-Velletri type, dating
530–520 bc. From Fortunati 1993.Figure 41.13 The shock-absorbing system between the chassis and the axle in the parade chariot from
Monteleone di Spoleto (project by A. Emiliozzi, drawing by D. Lamura).