Lisa C. Pi eracciniKITCHENS, COOKING AND COOKING UTENSILS
The Swedish excavation of Acquarossa reveals a number of Etruscan Iron A ge huts and
archaic houses along with a large quantity of cooking stands and fixed hearths.12 Likewise,
the huts and houses on the acropolis at San Giovenale provide rich evidence of fixed hearths,
cooking stands and braziers used in a domestic setting.13 However humble ancient cooking
stands and braziers may appear to the modern viewer, they were an essential part of civilized
life offering heat, warmth and light, not to mention their ability to prepare meals.14 The
most comprehensive assessment to date of ancient Italic cooking stands is C. Scheffer’s
work conducted at Acquarosssa (19 8 1-8 2 ).15 The cooking stand supports a container for
cooking (Fig. 43.2), while the brazier is a pan, dish or “stand” used for holding coals.16
Long neglected before Scheffer’s important study, cooking stands and braziers prove to be
remarkable artifacts in their own right. If anything, they offer one of the finest examples of
continuity in form within the realm of ancient Mediterranean pottery.17
One of the most plentiful classes of Etruscan decorated braziers was produced at
ancient Caere (Cerveteri) from the end of the seventh to the end of the sixth century bc
(Fig. 43.3).18 The braziers were made in the same workshop as the largepithoi and were
adorned by rolling a cylinder stamp around the rim of the vessel, leaving a decorative
relief. A lthough both vessels have routinely appeared in Caeretan tombs dating from
the Archaic period, the braziers fulfilled a role well beyond that of the tom b;19 used
as portable hearths serving numerous functions in the domestic, civic and funerary
worlds.20 It appears that the pithoi were destined for the tomb to accompany the deceased
IA IB 1CID 11A MBIIC MIA IIIBFigure 43.2 Drawing of the principle characteristics of Italic cooking stands (after Scheffer 1981, Fig. 2).