Welcome to the South Florida Chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America

Come join us at our monthly meetings held on the first Thursday of each month or attend one of our AIA sponsored lectures. Activities include discussions, videos, field trips, and mini-conferences offering the presentation of papers concerning the latest reseach being conducted in southern Florida. You may contact us at aiasfl@gmail.com or if you would like additional details please contact Rudolph Pascucci, AIASFL Coordinator at rpascucci@pbmnh.org

The South Florida Chapter of the
Archaeological Institute of America

2012-2013 Lecture Series

Weaving as Worship:
Reconstructing Ritual at the Etruscan Site of Poggio Colla (Vicchio)

Presented by Dr. Gretchen E. Meyers
Assistant Professor of Classics,
Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster PA
Director of Archaeological Materials
Mugello Valley Archaeological Project (Poggio Colla) Italy

Friday, February 8th at 7pm
Location: Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton Campus, 777 Glades Rd., Rm. GN102

Lecuture Abstract:

Excavations on the acropolis of the Etruscan site of Poggio Colla have uncovered a monumental structure with at least three construction phases, spanning the seventh-second centuries B.C.E. (Warden, et. al. JRA 18 (2005), 253-266). Sacred architecture and votive deposits, including a hoard of women’s jewelry, secure the designation of this space as a sanctuary with a history of ritualized usage. The recent discovery of a ceramic fragment with stamped image of a female figure giving birth, together with numerous tools for both weaving and spinning uncovered within the confines of the sanctuary point to the veneration of a female deity, as well as the potential involvement of female craft production in ritual.

This lecture examines how archaeological evidence can be used to reconstruct Etruscan ritual through an analysis of the architecture and finds from the sanctuary at Poggio Colla. In addition to more than ten votive contexts, production of sacred cloth or garments is indicated by the distribution of weaving tools on the site into distinctive areas for spinning and weaving. Two of the site’s votive deposits appear to contain gold adornment for cloth alongside other ritual implements. Analysis of this evidence, together with comparative material from Etruria, Latium and Southern Italy, suggests a particularly inclusive role for Etruscan women as producers of ceremonial cloth, and hence active participants in ritual.

A short bibliography and/or website on the lecture topic and information about the Southern Methodist University archaeological field school located there can be found at www.smu.edu/poggio

Lecturer Biography:

Gretchen Meyers is with Franklin & Marshall College, and holds her degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (Ph.D.) and Duke University. Her research interests are Roman and Etruscan Archaeology, the Tiber River and Roman topography, Roman space and urban theory. She is Director of Archaeological Materials for the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project (Poggio Colla) in Italy.

For more information, please contact:
Rudolph F. Pascucci
Coordinator, AIA-South Florida
rpascucci@pbmnh.org

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