University of Texas Press Cetamura del Chianti (Cities and Communities of the Etruscans)

Product Description Expanding the study of Etruscan habitation sites to include not only traditional cities but also smaller Etruscan communities, Cetamura del Chianti examines a settlement that flourished during an exceptional time period, amid wars with the Romans in the fourth to first centuries BCE. Situated in an ideal hilltop location that was easy to defend and had access to fresh water, clay, and timber, the community never grew to the size of a city, and no known references to it survive in ancient writings; its ancient name isn't even known. Because no cities were ever built on top of the site, excavation is unusually unimpeded. Intriguing features described in Cetamura del Chianti include an artisans' zone with an adjoining sanctuary, which fostered the cult worship of Lur and Leinth, two relatively little known Etruscan deities, and ancient wells that reveal the cultural development and natural environment, including the vineyards and oak forests of Chianti, over a period of some six hundred years. Deeply enhancing our understanding of an intriguing economic, political, and cultural environment, this is a compelling portrait of a singular society. Review [Cetamura del Chianti is] a model introduction to a small site and to the scholarly task of drawing connections between the micro and the macro...Cetamura is a case study of an artisan community and its infrastructure that could usefully inform more exploration of this phenomenon in Etruria...this is a book and a site with much to offer.-- "Ancient History Bulletin" (10/1/2020 12:00:00 AM) This volume presents evidence from Cetamura in an accessible manner. It is best suited for students new to Etruscan archaeology and helps to broaden the discipline's scope by focusing on a non-elite, rural community. Moreover, this volume underscores the value of rigorous palaeobotanical research.-- "The Classical Review" (10/1/2020 12:00:00 AM) About the Author Nancy Thomson de Grummond is M. Lynette Thompson Distinguished Research Professor of Classics at Florida State University, director of excavations at Cetamura del Chianti, and coeditor of The Religion of the Etruscans and Caere.