Vulci Burial better defines social continuity between Etruscans & Romans

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ROME - An exceptional discovery was made at the Vulci archaeological site, where a treasure of coins from the 3rd century B.C. was found intact, according to a statement from the site's scientific department.

The discovery included 15 large bronze coins, which were likely originally stored in a leather bag.

They were found above the closing tile of a burial site together with an iron strigil (a tool that was used to clean the body) and numerous ceramics, all clearly part of a funeral ritual for two deceased.

One of those buried there, who was male, had another coin similar to the others placed on his left shoulder together with a bronze clasp, along with other objects in iron and ceramics that completed the burial kit.

His death may have been the result of an iron object, possibly a spear, found near the skull.

The second of the two buried there was cremated and the incinerated bones were wrapped in a shroud that was likely closed with a bronze clasp that was found next to it and was nearly identical to the other. Other objects were found in the vestibule of the tomb together with another burial, including a small circular pyx (chalice) with a lead cover.

The coins are part of the first Roman issue and have the prow of a boat on one side and the image of the god Janus Bifrons on the other, representing the passage of the dead from the world of the living to the underworld.

Carlo Casi, the scientific director at the Vulci Foundation, said the discovery is part of "extensive and systematic investigations" that have been underway for years at the Poggetto Mengarelli necropolis.

"More than 100 tombs have been excavated, dating between the middle of the 8th century to the 2nd century B.C.," Casi said. "In this specific case, the study of the context is interesting, because it allows us to better define the social continuity between the Etruscans and the Romans, following the conquering of Rome that took place in 280 B.C.," Casi said.

The excavations took place in a collaboration between the Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Art and Landscape for Metropolitan Rome; the province of Viterbo and Southern Etruria; the Vulci Foundation; and the City of Montalto di Castro.

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/...ite_89467e5f-b991-4010-b0bf-9f4eaa937285.html

ROME, ITALY—A cache of coins dating to the third century B.C. has been found at the Poggetto Mengarelli necropolis at the Vulci archaeological site, located near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, according to a report in ANSA. The 15 large bronze coins bear images of the god Janus Bifrons on one side and the prow of a boat on the other, representing the passage to the underworld from the world of the living. They are thought to have been stored in a leather bag, and then placed in the burial along with ceramics and an iron tool called a strigil that was used to clean the body. A coin similar to those in the bag was placed near a bronze clasp on the left shoulder of a man who was buried in the tomb. An iron object that may have been a spear was found near his head. The second person buried in the tomb had been cremated, and the remains wrapped in a shroud that had probably been closed with the bronze clasp found nearby. A small circular pyx, or chalice, with a lead cover was discovered in the tomb’s vestibule. To read about the recent discovery of a jar full of bronze coins in Japan, go to “Samurai Nest Egg.”

https://www.archaeology.org/news/6765-180703-italy-vulci-coins
 
ROME - An exceptional discovery was made at the Vulci archaeological site, where a treasure of coins from the 3rd century B.C. was found intact, according to a statement from the site's scientific department.

The discovery included 15 large bronze coins, which were likely originally stored in a leather bag.

They were found above the closing tile of a burial site together with an iron strigil (a tool that was used to clean the body) and numerous ceramics, all clearly part of a funeral ritual for two deceased.

One of those buried there, who was male, had another coin similar to the others placed on his left shoulder together with a bronze clasp, along with other objects in iron and ceramics that completed the burial kit.

His death may have been the result of an iron object, possibly a spear, found near the skull.

The second of the two buried there was cremated and the incinerated bones were wrapped in a shroud that was likely closed with a bronze clasp that was found next to it and was nearly identical to the other. Other objects were found in the vestibule of the tomb together with another burial, including a small circular pyx (chalice) with a lead cover.

The coins are part of the first Roman issue and have the prow of a boat on one side and the image of the god Janus Bifrons on the other, representing the passage of the dead from the world of the living to the underworld.

Carlo Casi, the scientific director at the Vulci Foundation, said the discovery is part of "extensive and systematic investigations" that have been underway for years at the Poggetto Mengarelli necropolis.

"More than 100 tombs have been excavated, dating between the middle of the 8th century to the 2nd century B.C.," Casi said. "In this specific case, the study of the context is interesting, because it allows us to better define the social continuity between the Etruscans and the Romans, following the conquering of Rome that took place in 280 B.C.," Casi said.

The excavations took place in a collaboration between the Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Art and Landscape for Metropolitan Rome; the province of Viterbo and Southern Etruria; the Vulci Foundation; and the City of Montalto di Castro.

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/...ite_89467e5f-b991-4010-b0bf-9f4eaa937285.html


There must be bones there which could be analyzed, surely, from the wording, even if they don't make a big deal of it? They would help define the autosomal make-up of the Etruscans, and perhaps show, if we have an older Etruscan sample for comparison, along with the Roman one they just found, whether there was admixture already going on given this is a 300 BC find.

On Vulci:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulci
 
There must be bones there which could be analyzed, surely, from the wording, even if they don't make a big deal of it? They would help define the autosomal make-up of the Etruscans, and perhaps show, if we have an older Etruscan sample for comparison, along with the Roman one they just found, whether there was admixture already going on given this is a 300 BC find.

On Vulci:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulci

I hope this is the case, because it would be excellent if they could get samples from them.
 

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