CHAPTER FORTY THREE

FOOD AND DRINK IN THE

ETRUSCAN WORLD

Lisa C. Pieraccini

T

he topic of food and drink in the Etruscan world usually conjures up images of
the so-called “banquet.” But outside of the banquet, which we must remember was
limited to an elite few, where else do we see evidence of food and drink in Etruria? The
habitation sites thus far excavated reveal the use of hearths, cooking stands and other
utensils for cooking food; an essential part of daily life in ancient Italy from the Bronze
Age onward.^1 But do we fi nd evidence of the preparation of food outside of the home?
Did food and drink play a role at civic and religious feasts and rituals – and what were
the Etruscans eating and drinking on these occasions? Tomb paintings depict banquets,
but did loved ones leave food in the tomb as part of the funerary ritual? Deciphering the
archaeological record for such an inquiry is challenging to say the least, not only due
to the lack of Etruscan literature but also for the food substances that have simply not
survived. But new advances in the way in which we interpret material culture coupled
with recent studies of food utensils and cooking equipment reveal a broader picture of
Etruscan customs surrounding food and drink. This study will not include an analysis
of the banquet per se, (which is already covered in this book, see Chapter 44) but rather
will focus on the evidence of food and drink outside of the banquet. Of particular interest
is how food and drink were incorporated into civic and funerary rituals and how food
and their utensils may have communicated status and wealth. Such a study uncovers
another dimension to the overall picture of drinking and eating and its signifi cant place
in Etruscan life and Afterlife.

THE FERTILE LANDS OF ETRURIA:

GRAIN, GRAPES, AND OLIVES

Archaeological evidence suggests that the basis for the rapid social and economic surge
in Italy during the ninth-seventh centuries bc stems from agriculture and metallurgy,
both important components of the Etruscan economy.^2 Although the Etruscans have not
left us with their agricultural treatises, cookbooks and general thoughts on food, the
Romans had much to say about Etruscan agriculture. In fact, multiple accounts show