Panel 3.7 – Organization of Production and Crafts in Pre-Roman Italy


Organiser/Chair:

  • Nadin Burkhardt (KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt)
  • Robinson Krämer (Universität Rostock)

Panel abstract

Recent excavations and investigations in the field of workshop structures, such as Gabii, Herakleia, Kroton, Lokroi Epizephyrioi, Naxos, Selinunt and Kyme show the needs and chances for a new discussion of the organization of production and crafts in Pre-Roman Italy. This panel attempts to examine different organizational structures, specializations and typical features of crafts. Parameters and indicators may be the (I) context (independent – attached), (II) concentration (dispersed – nucleated), (III) scale (small, kin-based – factory) and (IV) intensity (part-time – full-time). The contributions of this panel investigate geographical, chronological and functional patterns for different types and contexts of crafts and productions. These may include, but are not limited to: autonomous individuals, household-based productions, workshops for a regional consumption, attached producers within government or sacred institutions or large-scale productions and facilities (note 1). This panel covers a period from the early iron age to late archaic/early classical times and focusses on different functional senses with a concentration on Italy. In analyzing case-studies we aim to give new insights into modes of organization for productions and crafts in Pre-Roman Italy.

 

Paper abstracts

1. Robinson Krämer (Universität Rostock)

Was there an Etruscan Ritual Economy? Tracing the Organization of Production and Crafts in Etruscan Sanctuaries (8th–5th centuries BCE)
My paper examines the different forms of production and crafts in Etruscan Sanctuaries from the early Iron Age to the 5th century BCE. The main focus of this analysis are not products, rituals of artisans, or operational chains. Instead, I investigate organizations of productions and crafts within the Etruscan Ritual Landscape during the Urbanization processes in the Orientalizing and Archaic periods.
A focus will lie on three ‘classical’ productions and crafts: pottery productions, metalworking, textile productions. Furthermore, I will also study the writing process and scribes as well as the standardization of weights in sanctuaries (ponderaria). Both phenomena have not been investigated yet in economic terms – especially not for Etruscan Sanctuaries. I will reconstruct the Etruscan Ritual Economy and patterns of organizations by investigating the above mentioned productions and crafts. To achieve this goal, ethnographic approaches as well as theories and models from other cultures will be considered.

"Was there an Etruscan Ritual Economy?" (Fulltext)

 

2. Friederike Bubenheimer-Erhart (Universität Wien)

Origins and Early Developments of Etruscan Jewellery Productions
Central Italy is rich in metal deposits, but there are no gold resources anywhere near at all. Surprisingly enough, gold ornaments of the highest quality make their sudden appearance from the late 8th century BCE on. The questions arise of where the raw material comes from and of whom the Etruscan jewellers had learned their craftsmanship from. Since the earliest artefacts are found at places along the Tyrrhenian coast, it seems reasonable to assume, that their appearance is due to overseas contacts. The most plausible source for the raw material is Nubia, which was then belonging with Egypt. As to the Etruscan artefacts, some types seem to be worked upon Egyptian prototypes, for others the prototypes are said to be Phoenician or remain uncertain. The mastery of working techniques such as granulation and filigree is usually ascribed to Phoenician craftsmen, who are known as immigrants to Coastal Etruria. This may account for certain aspects, but certainly not for all. It seems quite likely, that the Etruscans owed at least some of their skills to Egyptian craftsmen, too. The aim of this paper is to shed light on some of the problems concerning the origins and early developments of Etruscan Jewellery productions in order to better understand this highly skilled and brilliantly mastered craft of Pre-Roman Italy as a chapter in the history of gold winning, raw material trade, technology transfer and production in the ancient Mediterranean world.

 

3. Raffaella Da Vela (Universität Leipzig/ URZ)

For the pottery and for the potters: an ergonomic approach to ceramic production in Ancient Italy
This paper proposes to analyse the organization of the work within italic and etruscan ceramic workshops (7th-2nd c. B.C.).
The ergonomic approach takes in consideration the efficiency of a workshop, as the whole of structural conditions, which allow to produce more and better with lower energy costs. The research question focuses on the relationship between production and organisation of the work, in particular if the workshops are focussed on the products, on the producers or on the satisfaction of the demand.
The following three parameters are taken in account for the quantitative and qualitative analysis: integration of the workshop in the commodity system (proximity to sources and roads, destination of the products); structural organisation within the workshop and workflows (working times, steps, paths and proceeding); dimensions of the production. For each parameter I will present some concrete case-study in different regions. The elaboration of ergonomic diagramm of production and the observation of the value given to producers and products will be related to the political and economic system in which the workshops were embedded. Through the longitudinal analysis of the archaeological data, the paper aims to detct analogy and differences in the concept of ergonomics within different political and economic systems and mentalities of pre-roman Itlay.

"For the Pottery and for the Potters: an Ergonomic Approach to Pottery Production in Italy (8th–1st Century BC)" (Fulltext)

 

4. Nadin Burkhardt (Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt)

Structures and patterns of bronze workshops in early Greek settlements in the West
Pithekoussai, the first Greek settlement in the West, is not only known for the famous Nestor cup. The necropolis and the votiv pits offer rich archeological material in ceramics, terracotta-figurine, seals and bronze objects. Some of these bronze objects seems to have been produced on-site. In the località Mazzola a bronze workshop was excavated, built on three terraces, with houses and open areas, which was in use from the 8th to the 6th century BC. In 2016, a new archaeological excavation started in the neighbourhood of this workshop area. In this context was undertaken a new research of the bronze objects, the semi-finished products, the technical equipment, the tools and the traces of the production process.
Commercial opportunities and especially commodity trade are often considered as reasons for the Greek Western colonisation. The archaeological finds in Pithekoussai and Campania argue also for an commerce with ceramic vessels and bronze objects like jewelry. Metalworking and trade can be the reason for the rapid economic rise of Pithekoussai and Cuma.
The offering of such remains of bronze production in the local sanctuary will be included in the analysis. On the Acropolis in the località Scarico Gossetti, certain quantities of amorphous, unworked iron and a small lump of iron from the island of Elba were found among other votive offerings.
The archaeological remains and finds of Pithekoussai will be compare to similar findings in other Western Greek settlements.

"Spezialisierungsfolgen: Struktur und Befunde der metallverarbeitenden Werkstätten in frühgriechischen Siedlungen" (Fulltext)

 

5. Sophie Helas (Universität Bonn)

Eine eisenzeitliche Werkstatt in Gabii/Latium
Im Rahmen der Erforschung der Stadtmauern von Gabii wurde auch eine Werkstatt entdeckt und freigelegt, die im 10. vorchristlichen Jahrhundert angelegt und bis mindestens in das 9. Jh. v. Chr. genutzt worden ist. Die baulichen Reste der Werkstatt haben sich auf der Innenseite der Stadtmauern der Arx erhalten. Die Installationen (Gießgruben, Schmelzherd, Trockenschrank) und Funde (Gussform) lassen den Schluss zu, dass hier die Weiterverarbeitung von Buntmetallen stattgefunden hat. Die Verhüttung des Erzes hat an anderer Stelle stattgefunden. Hergestellt wurden wahrscheinlich kleine Bronzebarren, die als Rohprodukte gehandelt oder aber weiterverarbeitet wurden, aber auch größere Objekte im Vollgussverfahren.

"Eine eisenzeitliche Werkstatt in Gabii/Latium" (Fulltext)