Giorgio Pocobelli’s new volume on Vulci represents a significant contribution to the field of Etruscan archaeology and ancient topography. The volume is part of a broader series that has examined various aspects of topography in the ancient Mediterranean world. This work, focusing on Vulci, one of the twelve principal cities of the Etruscan League, aims to reconstruct the city’s urban and suburban landscape through comprehensive analysis and innovative use of aerial photogrammetry, cartographic studies, and archaeological data. The volume is an expanded and updated version of the author’s PhD dissertation and former articles on the same topic published in 2003-2004.[1] The author discusses the overall significance of Vulci’s urban landscape, suburban regions and necropoleis, emphasizing how these areas serve as central points for understanding the evolution of the site from the Iron Age through its Etruscan phase and into the Roman and late Roman periods.
In the chapter “Geology of the Territory”, the book delves into the geological factors that shaped Vulci’s development, from tectonic shifts to soil composition. This chapter highlights how natural features such as the Fiora River and the tufaceous plateaus influenced where people built structures and how they utilized the land, which impacted Vulci’s architectural forms and defensive strategies.
“History of Studies and Archaeological Research”offers a critical view of past excavations and scholarly interest in Vulci. It traces how early explorations, driven by antiquarian interests, often prioritized the discovery of artifacts over site preservation, resulting in both invaluable finds and notable losses. This historical overview provides insights into changing approaches in archaeology and evolving methodologies that today balance preservation with exploration.
“Cartographic Documentation” serves as a bridge between the physical layout of Vulci and the extant maps and aerial photographs. Through systematic cartographic documentation, this section brings together historical maps with modern techniques, demonstrating advancements in aerial and satellite imaging that have revealed overlooked sites and paths, adding depth to Vulci’s topographic record.
In “Historical Population Evolution”, the author follows Vulci’s demographic and cultural transitions from prehistoric times through the Roman Empire, mapping how each period left distinct imprints on the area. This diachronic study shows how shifting population dynamics influenced urban expansion, burial practices, and the creation of sacred and public spaces. The historical framework integrates both archaeological evidence and literary sources, historical maps, archival reports and earlier research documentation from the 19th and 20th centuries.
The book’s innovative approach shines in “Applications of Aerial Photogrammetry”. Here, aerial surveys and mapping highlight the complex network of roads and necropoleis surrounding Vulci, revealing routes that linked Vulci to its territory and beyond. This section emphasizes the contribution of aerial data in enhancing our understanding of Vulci’s suburban landscape, including how burial sites reflect social organization. Aerial photogrammetry notably enabled accurate 3D modeling and georeferencing of archaeological features, greatly enhancing spatial analysis compared to traditional aerial photography. The micro scale of imagery and their georeferencing create new maps in high resolution of the cityscape of Vulci.
The core of the book, “Archaeological Data”, brings together findings from over 450 archaeological sites across Vulci’s urban and suburban areas. Detailed descriptions of tombs, temples, domestic spaces, and roads give readers a vivid sense of Vulci’s cultural identity through monuments and material culture. This in-depth examination offers fresh insights into Vulci’s urban layout, demonstrating its religious, political, and social development. One fresh insight was the identification of previously undocumented architectural complexes, significantly enhancing our understanding of the religious and political landscape of Vulci.
With Vulci being a significant archaeological site, this study fills a crucial gap in our understanding of how ancient Etruscan cities were planned, evolved, and interacted with their environment across different time periods. This is particularly important due to the fragmentation of archaeological investigations at Vulci and the lack of extensive excavations in the urban area.[2]
The book revolves around several key themes that are critical for understanding the development of Etruscan and Roman cities. One of the central themes is the urbanization process in Vulci, which Pocobelli traces from the earliest human settlements in the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods through to the height of the city’s development in the Roman Imperial era. Vulci’s strategic location near the Fiora River is highlighted as a major factor that allowed the city to flourish economically and culturally, engaging in extensive trade with the rest of Italy and the broader Mediterranean. Another important theme is the complex relationship between Vulci’s urban core and its suburban areas, especially its necropoleis. The city’s necropoleis played a key role in expressing the social stratification and cultural identity of the Etruscan elite. The François Tomb, which is discussed in depth, is a prime example of this, with its elaborate frescoes and rich grave goods symbolizing the wealth and power of its occupants. Pocobelli effectively demonstrates how the necropoleis were closely linked to the city’s spatial organization and the ways in which they expanded over time.
Moreover, the atlas emphasizes the importance of Vulci’s roads, temples, and public buildings in reflecting the civic life and religious practices of the city’s inhabitants. The analysis of the decumanus maximus (main road) and the nearby aqueduct, for example, sheds light on how the city maintained its connection to the countryside and other Etruscan settlements, facilitating the movement of goods and people. The presence of significant public structures such as theatres and temples further highlight the city’s role as a political, religious, and cultural hub during both the Etruscan and Roman periods.
One of the standout features of this study is the use of aerial photogrammetry, a technology that enables highly accurate topographical mapping based on aerial photographs. This technique is used to create detailed and georeferenced maps that allow for a better understanding of the city’s layout and its transformation over time. This methodology also provides an unparalleled viewpoint for the surrounding suburban areas, including road systems, unexcavated areas, and necropolises, allowing the reader to visualize the ancient city’s full extent in relation to its natural surroundings. Additionally, photogrammetry provided elevation data crucial for precise terrain analysis, significantly improving the accuracy of archaeological interpretations.
The integration of traditional archaeological research with modern geospatial technologies is another methodological strength. Pocobelli utilizes a GIS (Geographic Information System) to produce highly accurate maps of the city and its environs, including topographical features such as isotypes (lines connecting points of equal elevation) and detailed terrain data. This cartographic approach allows for a precise reconstruction of Vulci’s urban growth and architectural development, offering new insights into how the city’s layout changed over time in response to political and economic pressures.
By combining these advanced technologies with traditional archaeological methods such as field surveys and the analysis of historical documents, Pocobelli creates a comprehensive picture of Vulci that is both detailed and dynamic. His work is particularly valuable for its ability to uncover new information about previously under-researched areas of the city and its surrounding territory, making it a crucial resource for scholars of ancient topography and Etruscan studies.
The volume is rich in archaeological evidence, much of which is drawn from fieldwork conducted over several decades, as well as newly discovered data from aerial and ground surveys. It is noteworthy that, over the past decade, the archaeological site of Vulci has been the focus of several new excavation projects, conducted by various international institutions and encompassing both urban and funerary contexts.
One of the most significant contributions of the book is its reevaluation of Vulci’s road network, which was essential for connecting the city to other major Etruscan centers as well as facilitating trade across the region. Pocobelli provides a detailed analysis of the main roads leading in and out of Vulci, including their construction techniques and the way they evolved over time to accommodate changing political and economic conditions.
The book also offers a fresh perspective on Vulci’s public buildings and monumental structures. Pocobelli discusses the remains of several important temples, including a large arched temple built in opus quadratum (rectangular blocks), as well as a theatre located near the city’s forum. These structures are analyzed in relation to the broader urban context, helping to explain how they fit into the social and political life of the city’s inhabitants. Particularly interesting is Pocobelli’s discussion of Vulci’s necropoleis, which are among the richest in Italy in terms of archaeological finds. This funerary landscape is very fragmented because of the lack of documentation of earliest excavations (19th and 20th centuries) and the difficulty to connect spatial data from different scales and coming from very different kinds of investigations (for example micro-scale vs. macro scale). Pocobelli’s systematic approach rectifies these issues by integrating previously fragmented spatial data into a cohesive topographic framework.
By focusing on the city’s topographical development, the book fills a critical gap in the scholarship, offering new insights into how the Etruscans organized their urban spaces and interacted with their surrounding environment. The detailed cartographic and archaeological data presented in the book will undoubtedly serve as a valuable resource for future researchers, particularly those interested in the relationship between ancient cities and their natural landscapes.
Additionally, the book’s interdisciplinary approach, which combines archaeology, mapping and geospatial technologies, sets a new standard for studies of ancient urbanism. Pocobelli’s work serves as a model for future topographical studies, not only in Etruria but also in other regions of the ancient Mediterranean world. His careful integration of different sources of data and his innovative use of aerial photogrammetry makes this study a significant advancement in the field of landscape archaeology.
While this publication is innovative in many ways, there are a few areas where it could be critiqued and improved. The first is the lack of a digital repository, or the release of a specific e-book dedicated to maps and remote sensing data. All this information is dramatically resized in the illustrations and not fully understandable in a paper printed format (for example the thematic map of the city). An additional gap is the absence of specific digital spatial analyses (viewshed, ranking, spatial modeling),[3] given the amount of GIS and spatial data available. All these spatial data can contribute by simulations to a new knowledge of urban development. In this case several digital applications should be expected given the quality and amount of georeferenced data available. Specific digital spatial analyses such as viewshed analysis, network analysis and the like could have further elucidated the visual connectivity and strategic placement of Vulci’s urban and suburban structures.
Another area where the book could have been expanded is in its comparative analysis. While the focus on Vulci is necessary for the depth of the study, a much broader comparison with other Etruscan cities, such as Tarquinia, Veii and Cerveteri, would have provided a richer context for understanding the city’s development. A more extensive discussion of how Vulci fits into the larger network of Etruscan and Roman cities would have enhanced the book’s contribution to the field. Finally, a conclusive chapter on the main research question and future perspectives of archaeological investigations (by excavations and non-invasive technologies) is missing.
In conclusion, this publication summarizes and significantly improves our understanding of Vulci’s urban and suburban topography by a meticulous use of aerial photography, combined with traditional archaeological methods. It will be an essential resource for specialists in Etruscan studies, ancient topography, and landscape archaeology, offering both new data and innovative methods for analyzing ancient settlements.
Notes
[1] G.F. Pocobelli, “Ortofotopiano storico del territorio di Vulci”, in Lo sguardo di Icaro 2003, pp. 147-156; G.F. Pocobelli, “Vulci: il contributo della fotografia aerea alla conoscenza dell’area urbana”, in Archeologia Aerea I, 2004, pp. 127-144.
[2] Forte M, McCusker, K., 2016. “The Vulci3000 Project: A Digital Workflow and Disseminating Data,” 2016 Chacmool Conference Proceedings, 96-105. M. Forte, E. Biancifiori, A. Conti, 2022, “Il progetto ‘Vulci 3000’: scavi e ricerche in area urbana”, in S. Carosi, C. Casi, C. Regoli (eds.), Vulci. Work in progress. Atti del I Incontro internazionale (Quaderni vulcenti, 2), pp. 153-165.
[3] For example, see: Stoddart, S., Palmisano, A., Redhouse, D., Barker, G., di Paola, G., Motta, L., Rasmussen, T., Samuels, T., and Witcher, R. (2020) Patterns of Etruscan Urbanism. Frontiers in Digital Humanities, 7:1, doi: 10.3389/fdigh.2020.00001. Stoddart, S. (2020b). Power and Place in Etruria. The Spatial Dynamics of a Mediterranean Civilisation. 1200-500 B.C. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.