Élite interaction in Archaic Inland Etruria: Chiusine Bucchero Pesante from Poggio Civitate (Murlo)
Eóin O’Donoghue
National University of Ireland, Galway
This project examined Chiusine bucchero pesante pottery recovered from the Etruscan site of Poggio Civitate (Murlo) during the 2011 excavation season run under the subspecies of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. During the sixth century BC Chiusi became the primary centre for the production of bucchero pottery in northern inland Etruria, following the dramatic decline of the production of ceramics at local settlements. At Poggio Civitate the destruction of the workshop associated with the Orientalizing period complex necessitated the importation of banqueting sets and other utilitarian wares to serve the needs of the residents of the Archaic period phase of occupation at the site. Included in this was an abundance of bucchero pesante produced at Chiusi; the successor to the locally made bucchero sottile and bucchero normale found during earlier phases of occupation. While much scholarship has focused on the ceramics produced at the site during the Orientalizing period, the latter imported pottery has received comparatively little attention.
It was the aim of this project to undertake the first comprehensive examination of the imported bucchero pesante. This involved a quantitative analysis of the typological form, decoration and fabric of the pottery recovered from excavations. Comparison were made with ceramics from the collection of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Chiusi and a number of other smaller collections in the vicinity in order to determine whether there was variability in pottery types and decoration that remained at Chiusi. This allowed for the investigation of possibility that particular types of pottery were intended for export to local communities, or that the aristocratic community at Poggio Civitate selected (or potentially commissioned) specific ceramics forms and decorative motifs to suit their own needs and preferences. The research undertaken during the course of this project has formed part of papers delivered at the British School at Rome and at the 113th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in Philadelphia (January 2012). The former paper will be published as part of conference proceedings in 2013. Another paper, comprising a catalogue, and analysis of the bucchero pesanterecovered from Murlo is presently in preparation for publication.
Examples of Chiusine bucchero pesante from Poggio Civitate (Photo: E. O’Donoghue)