![]() It has even been suggested that such contact extended to intermarriage, with two Villanovan women identified as the possible occupants of burials 91 and 198 (Bietti Sestieri and De Santis 2000, 24). The presence of Villanovans from Etruria to the north, and Campanians from the southern region in which 8th century BCE Greek colonies were established, is attested through imported objects among the grave goods of Phase II and III Osteria dell'Osa, most notably ceramic goods. This social transformation accompanies increased interregional contact. The dramatic evolution of settlements in the region from a loose affiliation of tribal village settlements to stratified proto-urban centres can be read from the changing mortuary culture of the region (Smith 1996, 44ff). Although the traditional date of 753 BCE for the foundation of Rome is likely to be apocryphal, the social and urban transformation of Italian settlements leading up to this time is well attested archaeologically. The period during which the cemetery was used saw significant social change, not only in Latium but throughout Italy. Table 4: Latial chronology (after Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 8) Phase The burials of 605 individuals, dating predominantly from Latial Phases II and III (see Table 4), have been excavated and published (Bietti Sestieri 1992a).įigure 4: Plan of cemetery of Osteria dell'Osa indicating cluster boundaries and names (reproduced from Bietti Sestieri 1992b, Fig. The Iron Age cemetery of Osteria dell'Osa (Figure 3 and Figure 4) is situated about 20 kilometres east of Rome in the modern region of Lazio, and its development is closely aligned to that of its more famous neighbour. Indeed, the location of the settlement that buried its dead at Osteria dell'Osa remains unconfirmed, although Bietti Sestieri ( 1992b, 78) surmised that it was at, or around, the western part of the Castiglione crater (see Figure 2).įigure 3: Map of Latium indicating location of Osteria dell'Osa in relation to major Archaic centres (after Smith 1994, Map 1) 1998) has expanded knowledge of the construction and internal organisation of individual dwellings, but a settlement excavation on a larger scale would increase understanding of the spatial arrangement of contemporary communities. The discovery of a burned Iron Age hut at Fidene east of Rome around 1990 (De Santis et al. This site has made a significant contribution to understanding mortuary customs in Iron Age central Italy, but there remains a dearth of evidence for settlement and household organisation. The volume of material excavated from Osteria dell'Osa, and the quality of its publication in 1992, remain unmatched in the region.įigure 2: Castiglione crater indicating location of Osteria dell'Osa and the Archaic city of Gabii (Image courtesy Google Earth™ mapping service. ![]() Bietti Sestieri recommenced Acanfora's earlier excavations at Osteria dell'Osa in 1973, at a time when there was intense interest in the archaeology of Rome's beginnings and in the regional social changes that accompanied and reflected Rome's rise to prominence (for example, Gjerstad 1953-73 Pallottino 1972 Quilici 1979 Ridgway and Ridgway 1979 Momigliano 1984). This interest was born in the 1960s and maintained through a series of exciting discoveries (see Cornell 1979-80 1985-86 Smith 1994). The excavation and publication of this significant site was not an isolated phenomenon, but occurred at a time when there was great interest in the Iron Age archaeology of the region. ![]() ![]() Background to Osteria dell'OsaĮxcavation and publication of the 600 burials at Osteria dell'Osa has significantly increased knowledge of, and scholarly interest in, the Latial Iron Age.
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