EL TELÉFONO MÓVIL COMO UN DISPOSITIVO ESENCIAL PARA LOS

About 3 km north of Gualdo Tadino, near the church of S. Facondino, a cemetery was discovered that began to be used in the fifth century BC.®^ It is situated below the hill of Col di Mori on which there are traces both of a fortified circuit and a small sanctuary building. The use of the cemetery continues throughout the Republican era, although

Between Nursia and Interamna on Map 1.

This is probably within Sabine territory but can profitably be discussed together with the closely related Umbrian centres in the Appennines.

Bonomi Ponzi, 'Dorsale appenninica' 140; M. 0 . de Angelis, 'La necropoli di Colle del Capitano. Nuove Acquisizioni', in La Romagna tra il VI e II IV sec. a.C. nel quadra della protostoria dell'ltalia centrale (Bologna, 1985); M. C. De Angelis, R. P. Guerzoni, 'Scavi e scoperte: Monteleone di Spoleto (Perugia)', SE 51 (1983) 459-61.

For the chamber tomb, see Minto in B P I44 (1924) 145 ff.

O. Brendel, Etruscan Art (Harmondsworth, 1978) 151. He thinks it is a local work, perhaps made by immigrant craftsmen. M. Torelli sees the bronze panels as Volsinian in origin: Todi. Verso un museo della città (Todi, 1982) 55.

No. 20 on Map 4.

E. Stefani, 'Gualdo Tadino. Scoperte varie', NSc (1935) 155-173; E. Stefani, ‘Gualdo Tadino. Scoperta di antichi sepolcri nella contrada S. Facondino’, NSc (1955) 182-194.

whether the corresponding settlement was actually on Col di Mori is unknown.®^ Another cemetery was found in the Malpasso district 2 km south of the Roman town in 1935 had four late fourth century graves of which one was a double burial containing (amongst other things) two bronze strigils, two iron lance heads and several red figure cups.

(b) Earlv settlement sites in sub-Appennine areas.

In this section I catalogue the evidence for settlement before the conquest of the region around 300 BC on the sites in sub-Appennine areas that became muncipia in the Roman period.®"* The designation of centres with municipal status by the Roman authorities implies they recognised the urban consistency of these centres, although it is hard to be specific about what exact standards they applied. In fact the archaeological evidence strongly suggests that those centres made municipia in the later period were already the most important settlements in the pre-Roman period; although remains have been found at several minor sites, such as Campello near Spoletium, none has a level of evidence comparable to those catalogued below.®® The separation of these sites from those with a village and hillfort system of settlement discussed above is, of course, an artificial one, but it is only partially based on hindsight. Most of the centres catalogued below have more than one type of evidence for settlement and several show traces of performing a variety of functions for the people living there and in the territory around, proposed as an index of urbanisation in chapter one.®®

(i) Otricoli (Ocriculum)®^

Otricoli is a small centre on an elevated spur 100 m above the Tiber valley. It has several short sections of ancient walling around which the medieval town wall is built.®® Some parts seem to be still in situ and so help us to determine the perimeter. The measurements of the blocks may be based on modules of the Attic foot, as at Veii and Falerii Veteres. Also the pattern in which the stone blocks are laid is identical with the arrangement at Tarquinii and clearly distinct from early Roman examples such as the

castrum of Ostia. On the basis of these criteria, and comparisons with similarly sized centres built up in the neighbouring Faliscan and southern Etruscan environment.

®® Guida Laterza 172.

®"* This was generally in the first century BC, and in most cases soon after the Social War (see ch. 5).

®® For Campello see Spoleto. Da villaggio a città.

®® Section 3 (b).

®^ For this and subsequent sites see Map 1.

®® M. Cipollone, E. Lippolis, 'Le mura di Otricoli', Nuovi Quademi dell'lstituto di Archeologia deirUniversità di Perugia 1 (1979) 59-64; better: Fontaine, Cités 57-68.

Fontaine has dated the fortifications of Otricoli to between the mid fifth and mid fourth centuries.®®

This conclusion accords with funerary evidence of early settlement on this site.®° About twenty chamber tombs, mostly of the seventh century BC, have been found in the vicinity of the hilltop town site at Colle Rampo, S. Nicola and elsewhere. Material in them shows a strong Faliscan influence on the site, which is unsurprising given its position, adjacent to Faliscan territory. Burials later than the seventh century, down to the mid sixth century BC, are indicated only by the remains of some later Etrusco- Corinthian vases. The dating of the fortifications shows that the centre was not deserted from the sixth century despite the great reduction in the material discovered in graves. Further confirmation of the importance of this settlement is provided by Livy (9.41.20) who records that in 308 BC the Ocriculani were received into friendship with a sponsio,

a promise.

An architectural terracotta was found in a farm along the track running from modern Otricoli (where pre-Roman fortifications have been found) to the Tiber. It is part of a temple frieze representing mounted cavalrymen in low relief. Parallels have been drawn with contemporary friezes from Velitrae (by C. Pietrangeli) and with two examples from Veii dating from 600-575 BC (by G. Dareggi).®^ It is impossible to say whether the temple or other monumental building of which this formed part was situated on the actual find spot, suggesting a link with trade along the Tiber, or in the fortified centre above. It is clear evidence, though, of Otricoli's links with the cultural koiné in the sixth century BC covering the major centres of southern Etruria and Latium, in one of which the terracotta was probably made.®^

(ii) Ameiia (Amena)

At Amelia a variety of evidence from the period before the Roman conquest has been found, including funerary material, a votive deposit, and possibly fortifications around the

®® Fontaine, Cités 65.

®° E. Stefani, 'Otricoli. Avanzi di età romana scoperti a Colie Rampo e nelle localité Palombara e Civitella', NSc 32 (1909) 278-91; C. Pietrangeli, Ocriculum (Rome, 1943) 23-7; P. Santoro, 'Le necropoli della Sabina tiberina da Colle del Forno a Otricoli', DdA 3 (1985) 67-75. Part of the material from these tombs is now in the Villa Giulia.

®^ Pietrangeli, Ocriculum 23-4; G. Dareggi, 'Una terracotta architettonica da Otricoli. Qualche considerazione sul centro preromano', MEFRA 90 (1978) 627-635. The similar terracottas from Velitrae and Veii are illustrated in M. Menichetti, 'Le aristocrazie tirreniche', in

Storia di Roma 1 (Turin, 1988) 118-9.

®^ Florus' mention of 'Ocricolum' amongst the conquests of Tarquinius Superbus 'in Latium' (1.1.7) might possibly refer to this centre, but is in a list with other towns much closer to Rome.

site.®^ The votive deposit, like the funerary material, was discovered in the Pantanelli district just to the west of the city site.®" There were around 170 bronze and a few lead figurines of the fifth and fourth centuries BC as well as other material post-dating the Roman conquest, including a large number of coins and 18 terracotta votives of heads and anatomic parts.®® The discovery of chamber tombs in the same area shows that there was a cemetery here which must relate to a settlement on the city site.®® These tombs were constructed of large rectangular tufa blocks with vaulted roofs; they contained rich furnishings of the fifth and fourth centuries, including Attic pottery and Etruscan bronze dishes, utensils and arms.®^ Casual finds during agricultural work of bronze strigils and more Attic red figure pottery (c. 500-480 BC) also in this area must also have come from this cemetery. An Umbrian inscription perhaps dating to around 300 BC was found in the territory of Amelia, but the exact find spot is unclear.®®

At least one part of the imposing and substantial sections of city wall that remain around the site may date to before the Roman conquest.®® There are three different varieties of walling using closely fitted polygonal blocks of up to three metres across: one of the phases is probably a medieval restoration; the other two are ancient. O f these latter the first phase of walling (as identified by Fontaine) is more roughly finished than the second phase, which itself is akin to the walls found at fourth and third century BC Latin colonies in central Italy, such as Cosa and Alba Fucens. The position of this first section higher up the slope than the rest of the fortification (A on plan 1) suggests that it belongs to a small nucleated settlement that developed before the Roman conquest, and we could relate this to the funerary evidence discussed above.^°®

A useful fragment of information about the community here is preserved by Pliny the Elder {N.H. 3.114) who writes that 'Ameria is stated by Cato to have been founded 963 years before the war with P e r s e u s ' . C a t o is known to have used local sources for the Origines, and this notice, together with that of Festus recording the name of its

®® Curious lead coinage that might be of votive function could also be from here, Judging from the legend amer or ameri, although it would probably date to the third century (Monacchi, 'Grotta Bella' 97 n. 150).

®" G. Eroli, Bullettino dell'Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica (1860) 118-21, (1864) 56-9, (1867) 169-72; Monacchi, 'Grotta Bella' 81, 84 n. 47.

Colonna no. XII (unclassifiable series) for bronze figurines (some warriors, others worshippers). The implications of the later material is examined in ch. 4 section 6.

®® Guida Laterza 19.

®^ Brief reports by G. Eroli, Bullettino dell'Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica (1860) 118-21, (1864) 56-9, (1881) 216-21; Monacchi, 'Grotta Bella' 96 n. 146.

®® Ve 229 (see appendix two).

®® Fontaine, Cités 72-81. See Plan 1 for the layout of the walls (taken from Fontaine). Date of the earliest walling: Fontaine, Cités 80.

founder, Amirus, suggests that there was a local tradition that recognised/proclaimed that city had an origin well before the Roman conquest (and in fact well before that of

Rome)T^