BMCR 2009.06.55: Cleland on Gleba, Votives, Places and Rituals in Etruscan Religion. Studies in Honor of Jean MacIntosh Turfa. Religions in the Graeco-Roman World; 166

Margarita Gleba, Hilary Becker (ed.), Votives, Places and Rituals in
Etruscan Religion. Studies in Honor of Jean MacIntosh Turfa. Religions
in the Graeco-Roman World; 166.  Leiden:  Brill, 2008.  Pp. xliv, 291.
ISBN 978004170452.  $154.00.

Reviewed by Liza Cleland, University of Edinburgh
([email protected])
Word count:  2161 words
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[Authors and titles listed at the end of the review.]

As well as the Introduction and prefatory material typical of a
Festschrift, this substantial volume contains fourteen chapters on
specific aspects of the archaeology of Etruscan religion from the
international symposium 'Unveiling Etruscan Religion', at the
University of Pennsylvania, 2007. Overall, these provide new material
of interest not only to Etruscan specialists but also to those
interested in the wider archaeology of ritual. The papers vary widely
in scope, approach, and length, as well as topic, but are of a
consistent quality. As a whole, the volume provides a welcome overview
of the present nature of Etruscan scholarship, and is a very useful
addition to general scholarship on Mediterranean ritual archaeology. It
is well-indexed, and has over fifty black and white illustrations.

The fourteen main chapters are divided into three sections: votives,
places and rituals. The first two chapters remain in their original
French, emphasising the international nature of the volume (their
language is clear even for readers of relatively minimal fluency).
However, readers likely to find this off-putting might perhaps have
been more comfortable had the non-English chapters not been placed
together at the very start of the volume.

MG and HB provide a concise introduction, emphasising that the volume
interrogates fundamental topics from various perspectives: "Ritual can
best be mapped by uniting a range of disparate and often overlapping
information, including not only ancient textual sources but also
inscriptions, votive objects and the sites themselves" (p. 2). Indeed,
the chapters provide case studies not only of different types of
evidence, but also of the variety of possible approaches and their
impacts. These confirm that "Etruria offers an exceptional opportunity
to probe . . . ritual practices in the ancient world, because of the
diverse range of evidence available for the study of Etruscan religion"
(p. 3).

Jean Gran-Aymerich's 'Gli Etruschi fuori d'Etruria: Dons et Offrandes
E/trusques en Me/diterane/e Occidental et dans l'Ouest de l'Europe'
provides a thoroughgoing survey of Etruscan ritual artefacts found
outside Etruria, with a welcome focus on the West. The emphasis on
votive character for either find or findspot is interesting and
justified, as are detailed arguments concerning whether each indicates
pure trade or accompanying ritual use by travelling Etruscans. JG-A
makes a convincing case for further work on these areas, and for a
perspective on Etruscan ritual and religion which extends far beyond
Etruscan territory in all periods. In terms of subject, this
contribution is right where it should be, emphasising the reach (in
space and time) of Etruscan influence.

In contrast, the focus of Dominique Briquel's 'Les Inscriptions Votives
du Sanctuaire de Portonaccio a\ Ve/ies' is very tight. Dealing with
artefacts from the period 600-540/30 BCE, DB discusses a rich store of
dedicants' names inscribed on fragments found in a foundation deposit
of the second-phase sanctuary at Veii. This technical chapter goes into
great detail about these inscriptions, relating them in style as well
as content to other dedications from across Etruria, and so drawing the
limited conclusions possible about the location of various aristocratic
families in this early period. DB gives a valuable model for what can
be done with this type of evidence, and the general conclusion that
this sanctuary was of pan-Etruscan significance impacts the volume
overall.

Margarita Gleba's 'Textile Tools in Ancient Italian Votive Contexts:
Evidence of Dedication or Production' closes the 'Votives' section. MG
begins with an exemplary general outline of the topic of votive
loom-weights (a feature in many Mediterranean contexts) which
contextualises her argument about specifically Etruscan finds. This
deals particularly well with the ubiquity of loom-weights in the
ancient world, and their associated problems as evidence. Clear
information on deposits and sites for the less common contexts is also
very welcome, as is the fact that the references discussed 'open up'
the topic effectively. The conclusion -- that large finds of loom
weights, even in ritual contexts, indicate workshops not deposition --
is well supported, and should lead to more widespread publication of
the details of loom-weight finds, not simply their amounts). A map
in-text would have been very welcome.

Hilary Becker's chapter on 'The Economic Agency of the Etruscan Temple:
Elites, Dedications and Display' opens the 'Places' section. Discussion
is set against the statement (p. 89) that "religious dedications
provided another outlet for socio-economic transactions between elites
. . . an opportunity for aristocratic competition and display . . .
'sanctioned by and mediated through the gods' (Whitney 2001, 144)."
The volume of dedications, role of votives as temple assets, and the
open-endedness of elite dedication (as opposed to the constraints of
reciprocity in intra-elite gift exchange) are all well discussed,
raising interesting questions. The emphasis on redistribution could
well be considered in terms of time, as well as throughout the
community, and the issue of the 'disposability' of elite dedications
might also be considered in terms of 'ring-fencing' or investing
resources, rather than simple sacrifice.

Ingrid Edlund-Berry's 'The Historical and Religious Context of Vows
Fulfilled in Etruscan Temple Foundations' is short and to-the-point,
but perhaps raises more questions than it answers. Proceeding by
contrast with Roman temple-building practices, IE-B suggests that the
opposition between temples and sanctuaries is of particularly Roman
origin. This sound point might have been made more strongly. Similarly,
the idea that social factors played a part in Etruscan temple
foundations analogous to Roman vows deserves further attention.

P. Gregory Warden's chapter, 'Remains of the Ritual at the Sanctuary of
Poggio Colla' is a clear report of new evidence, with convincing
arguments regarding possible understandings of specific rituals, and
social context. Its central premise, that "evidence from . . . Poggio
Colla raises questions about whether such sacred contexts would always
have remained closed" (p.108), is of great importance for ritual
archaeology. A further issue is implied: if closed contexts were not
the norm (yet evidence is innately biased towards them) how might we
compensate in analysing evidence? PGW makes a further point "While the
nature of a single offering can be understood, at least in the most
generic and banal way, aggregate ritual evidence can have the most
diverse meanings . . ." (p.108). 'Votive' should not be seen as an
answer, but rather the beginning of a series of questions. Among these,
PGW suggests, are issues about parallels between individual or
community action and single votives or deposit complexes, alongside the
importance of social contexts and change. Again, a plan in-text would
have helped greatly.

Stephen Steingraeber's chapter, 'The Cima Tumulus at San Giuliano -- An
Aristocratic Tomb and Monument for the Cult of the Ancestors of the
Late Orientalizing Period' has a similarly direct focus, if less
general engagement with wider issues in the archaeology of ritual. For
a wider readership, SS also gives an excellent sense of the ritual
landscape surrounding this unusual tumulus. It is good to remember that
ancient explanations of ritual action are not without their own
problems.

Iefke von Kampen's 'Stone Sculpture in the Context of Etruscan Tombs: A
Note on its Position' comprises, for the most part, a survey of such
sculptures with details of the problematic aspects of their find and/or
excavation histories. Such treatment of an often neglected aspect of
the modern history of scholarship is welcome. IvK raises the important
consideration of differences in the perception and practice of
visibility, past and present.

Gilda Bartolini's 'The Earliest Etruscan Toast. Considerations on the
Earliest Phases of Populonia' outlines the complexity of Populonian
settlement archaeology, and what needs to be done to maximise its
utility. GB makes interesting use of Greek written sources (with their
oral context) to contextualise the theorised ritual, widening its
implications. This might have been even more effective if the chapter
had begun with its detailed argument about ritual, widening to include
the complexity of the settlement archaeology, rather than giving the
broad picture first.

Nancy T. de Grummond's 'On Mutilated Mirrors' is, like its title, clear
and concise (the last five pages survey the artefacts). This chapter
goes beyond the simple concept of destruction for the dead to make
wider links with Etruscan ritual and thought, using an interesting
application of theory and abstractions to particular cases in doing so.
This approach is persuasive, and one hopes that others will take up its
challenge: "that those studying [artefacts] . . . close at hand will be
alert to . . . physical conditions . . . that may bring greater
understanding" (p. 177).

Larissa Bonfante's 'Ritual Dress' is an excellent concise summary of
the topic, which should encourage readers to look more closely at
ritual dress. Its 'working back' of Roman ritual dress to reveal
Etruscan practices is interesting. Dress in art is frustrating, yet it
does remain a unique source for contemporary significance: more than
the forms themselves, this is difficult to ascertain from Roman
sources. The points made here about 'legacy' aspects of ritual dress
(for instance, how aristocratic shapes, as of helmets, persisted in new
fabrics) are immensely important, highlighting the processes of dress
practice formation.

Fay Glinister's 'Veiled and Unveiled: Uncovering Roman Influence in
Hellenistic Italy' maintains the focus on dress, arguing convincingly
that 'veiled means Roman' is too simplistic: "whether people covered
their heads while sacrificing. . . encompasses questions of identity,
Romanisation and acculturation" (p. 194). FG's summary of Roman veiling
and sacrificial practices and use of detailed evidence to defy
simplistic assumptions are excellent. The necessity of challenging past
assumptions (that assume simple and direct links between one look and
one factor in the study of dress) is supported by the overall
conclusion. "The significance of the veil lay in the nature of the
ritual required, and so the same worshipper could use a different mode
of sacrifice -- depending on the god, on a particular festival, even on
a single specific moment of a festival" (p. 211).

L. Bouke van der Meer's short chapter 'On the Enigmatic Deity Lur in
the Liber Linteus Zagrabensis'  illustrates some of the available
lexicographic sources for Etruscan religion. In doing so, it certainly
whets the appetite for a monograph: the subject clearly requires both
more detail, and more general discussion.

Finally, Marshall Joseph Becker's 'Cremation and Comminution at
Etruscan Tarquina in the 5th-4th Century BCE: Insights into Cultural
Transformations from Tomb 6322' provides an excellent outline of
approaches that deliver valuable information from even the simplest
grave. While acknowledging the many obstacles to obtaining such maximal
data, MJB sets out a clear program for overcoming them. In the process,
he also demonstrates the importance of considering remains of every
status, not simply those with complete skeletal remains and rich
assemblages.

Considering the complexity and range of evidence discussed, I would
have liked an Afterword. However, the arrangement of subjects overall
is thoughtful and effective, so it is a shame this volume is rather
expensive -- it deserves a wide readership. Many of the illustrations
are simple line drawings which would have been more useful spread
throughout the text on plain paper, rather than confined to the photo
section at the rear. There are few typos, although several of the
second-language papers would have been better served by closer editing
to correct occasional infelicities. This volume has much to commend it,
and will hopefully have the impact on future work advocated by its
contributors.

Contents:
List of Illustrations  xi
Tabula Gratulatoria  xv
Jean MacIntosh Turfa -- An Appreciation  xxii
Bibliography of Jean MacIntosh Turfa  xxvii
Editors' Preface  xxxiii
Authors	  xxxv
Bibliographic Abbreviations  xli
Introduction (Hilary Becker and Margarita Gleba)  1


Part One -- Votives
Ch.1'Gli Etruschi fuori d'Etruria: Dons et Offrandes E/trusques en
Me/diterane/e Occidental et dans l'Ouest de l'Europe' Jean
Gran-Aymerich  15
Ch.2 'Les Inscriptions Votives du Sanctuaire de Portonaccio a\ Ve/ies'
Dominique Briquel  43
Ch.3 'Textile Tools in Ancient Italian Votive Contexts: Evidence of
Dedication or Production' Margarita Gleba  69


Part Two -- Places
Ch.4 'The Economic Agency of the Etruscan Temple: Elites, Dedications
and Display'
Hilary Becker  87
Ch.5 'The Historical and Religious Context of Vows Fulfilled in
Etruscan Temple Foundations' Ingrid Edlund-Berry  101
Ch.6 'Remains of the Ritual at the Sanctuary of Poggio Colla' P.
Gregory Warden  107
Ch.7 'The Cima Tumulus at San Giuliano -- An Aristocratic Tomb and
Monument for the Cult of the Ancestors of the Late Orientalizing
Period' Stephen Steingraeber  123
Ch.8 'Stone Sculpture in the Context of Etruscan Tombs: A Note on its
Position'
Iefke von Kampen  135


Part Three - Rituals
Ch.9 'The Earliest Etruscan Toast. Considerations on the Earliest
Phases of Populonia'
Gilda Bartolini  159
Ch.10 'On Mutilated Mirrors' Nancy T. de Grummond  171
Ch.11 'Ritual Dress' Larissa Bonfante  183
Ch.12 'Veiled and Unveiled: Uncovering Roman Influence in Hellenistic
Italy' Fay Glinister  193
Ch.13'On the Enigmatic Deity Lur in the Liber Linteus Zagrabensis' L.
Bouke van der Meer  217
Ch.14 'Cremation and Comminution at Etruscan Tarquina in the 5th-4th
Century BCE: Insights into Cultural Transformations from Tomb 6322'
Marshall Joseph Becker 229


Illustrations Section  249
Index of Places  285
General Index  289