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Poggio Colla
Poggio Colla is an Etruscan archaeological site located near the town of Vicchio in Tuscany, Italy.
The site of Poggio Colla contains well-preserved layers of habitation that are associated with the Etruscan civilization. It is believed that the site was inhabited by the Etruscans as early as the 7th century BCE. However, it was eventually abandoned or destroyed by the late 3rd century BCE. The site experienced a period of violent destruction but was later rebuilt during the Hellenistic period.
The first excavations at Poggio Colla were directed by Francesco Nicosia from 1968 to 1972. From 1995 to 2012, the site was excavated annually by the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project (MVAP) under the direction of Gregory Warden and Michael Thomas; MVAP is sponsored by Southern Methodist University and the University of Pennsylvania. Excavations have revealed fortification walls, a necropolis area, and the remains of an archaic monumental building (possibly, a temple).
The faunal remains recovered from Poggio Colla primarily contains the remains of cattle, sheep/goat and pig, as well as the remains of dog and wild species. The relative importance of pigs increases over time; this trend is linked to the intensification of meat production and rising urban populations. Similar faunal assemblages have been found in other Etruscan settlements.
A black-glaze olpe filled with one hundred Roman silver victoriati was discovered in 2001 in the west end of the Poggio Colla acropolis. The significance of the finding is that it is found in the context of a sanctuary and it was buried after the sanctuary was destroyed in the late 3rd century BCE.
The use of a rounded molding on the base of monumental tombs, temples, and altars is the characteristic of Etruscan architecture; and it was consistent between the 6th and the 2nd century BCE in different Etruscan cities. A large number of such moldings were discovered in Poggio Colla; the large single or double round fits into the known pattern of Etruscan architecture.
A large number of roof tiles of the monumental structure on the Poggio Colla acropolis and workshop/farmhouse of Podere Funghi have been discovered during ongoing excavation. A geochemical study has been done in an attempt to characterize the composition of ceramics, tiles and the local sediments discovered at the site of Poggio Colla. Using methods like X-ray, petrography, thermogravimetric analysis, macroscopic observations, it is found that typical pottery sherds and tile fragments constituent of abundant quartz, feldspar, minor amount of mica, lithic, and grog. The compositions of tiles and pottery of Poggio Colla and Podere Funghi are similar, but the rock and sediment specimens were different; which supports the hypothesis that diverse ceramic industry co-existed in close proximity to Poggio Colla acropolis.
Paleoethnobotanical studies have been done at Poggio Colla to identify the plants utilized by the Etruscans; this could provide potential information about Etruscan diet and common plants used in weaving. The soil samples from features and stratum, are floated to obtain botanical remains, which includes modern roots, charcoal, whole seeds, and seed fragments. Thus far, the identified seeds include cereal, mainly barley, wheat, broad beans, chickpeas, and grape pips. This is an ongoing research of MVAP.
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Poggio Colla
Poggio Colla is an Etruscan archaeological site located near the town of Vicchio in Tuscany, Italy.
The site of Poggio Colla contains well-preserved layers of habitation that are associated with the Etruscan civilization. It is believed that the site was inhabited by the Etruscans as early as the 7th century BCE. However, it was eventually abandoned or destroyed by the late 3rd century BCE. The site experienced a period of violent destruction but was later rebuilt during the Hellenistic period.
The first excavations at Poggio Colla were directed by Francesco Nicosia from 1968 to 1972. From 1995 to 2012, the site was excavated annually by the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project (MVAP) under the direction of Gregory Warden and Michael Thomas; MVAP is sponsored by Southern Methodist University and the University of Pennsylvania. Excavations have revealed fortification walls, a necropolis area, and the remains of an archaic monumental building (possibly, a temple).
The faunal remains recovered from Poggio Colla primarily contains the remains of cattle, sheep/goat and pig, as well as the remains of dog and wild species. The relative importance of pigs increases over time; this trend is linked to the intensification of meat production and rising urban populations. Similar faunal assemblages have been found in other Etruscan settlements.
A black-glaze olpe filled with one hundred Roman silver victoriati was discovered in 2001 in the west end of the Poggio Colla acropolis. The significance of the finding is that it is found in the context of a sanctuary and it was buried after the sanctuary was destroyed in the late 3rd century BCE.
The use of a rounded molding on the base of monumental tombs, temples, and altars is the characteristic of Etruscan architecture; and it was consistent between the 6th and the 2nd century BCE in different Etruscan cities. A large number of such moldings were discovered in Poggio Colla; the large single or double round fits into the known pattern of Etruscan architecture.
A large number of roof tiles of the monumental structure on the Poggio Colla acropolis and workshop/farmhouse of Podere Funghi have been discovered during ongoing excavation. A geochemical study has been done in an attempt to characterize the composition of ceramics, tiles and the local sediments discovered at the site of Poggio Colla. Using methods like X-ray, petrography, thermogravimetric analysis, macroscopic observations, it is found that typical pottery sherds and tile fragments constituent of abundant quartz, feldspar, minor amount of mica, lithic, and grog. The compositions of tiles and pottery of Poggio Colla and Podere Funghi are similar, but the rock and sediment specimens were different; which supports the hypothesis that diverse ceramic industry co-existed in close proximity to Poggio Colla acropolis.
Paleoethnobotanical studies have been done at Poggio Colla to identify the plants utilized by the Etruscans; this could provide potential information about Etruscan diet and common plants used in weaving. The soil samples from features and stratum, are floated to obtain botanical remains, which includes modern roots, charcoal, whole seeds, and seed fragments. Thus far, the identified seeds include cereal, mainly barley, wheat, broad beans, chickpeas, and grape pips. This is an ongoing research of MVAP.