[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review]
In the Footsteps of the Etruscans: Changing Landscapes around Tuscania from Prehistory to Modernity is a necessary book not only because of the importance of the data it makes available, but also because it ensures different levels of access to its contents and proves relevant at all of these levels. This 2023 volume eports the outcomes of the Tuscania Archaeological Survey, an overall project including the fieldwork conducted over thirty years ago in the countryside within a 10 km radius of Tuscania (Viterbo, Italy) and the subsequent processing and analysis of the collected data.
The book has a two-part dedication, reflecting the project’s different features in terms of academic background and character as teamwork-based research: on one hand to John Ward-Perkins, Anthony Luttrell and Tim Potter, on whose teachings the research presented in the volume expressly builds; on the other hand to Marco Rendeli and Helen Patterson, members of the working team who died prematurely before the book was published.
Although authored by Graeme Barker and Tom Rasmussen (according to the title page, “with contributions by” other scholars), the volume is in fact collection of nine essays by different authors.
Each chapter is autonomous in terms of content and structure. Taken together, however, the various sections form an organic editorial ensemble under the direction of the two principal authors, who also supervised the field project. Indeed, the well-structured table of contents and long list of contributors point to the challenging task of coordinating the full-bodied editorial output and complex fieldwork. The latter is both the premise and subject of the volume, and its results are presented in this volume after previous publications on specific aspects.
With its effective rhetorical reference to the “Etruscans”, the book’s title might be misleading, as could be taken to indicate a solely Etruscan focus. In reality, this synecdochical reference points to a historical region where traces of human activity are investigated with a focus that extends beyond Etruscological interests. As the subtitle clarifies, the research covers a chronological span from prehistory to the present day. Tuscania and the surrounding area are investigated through this extended timeline as a case study to contribute to defining a broader history of the Mediterranean landscape, mainly focusing on the relationships between town and countryside. This feature reveals a contemporary conceptual approach in which the objective of historical research is conceptualized as granting space to the voices of all the various historical actors, including otherwise neglected layers of society.
The comprehensiveness of the contents is matched by an overall organicity guaranteed by a well-defined structure (including the internal organization of the individual chapters) and constant internal cross-referencing, presenting each chapter as autonomous but integral to the whole. Thanks to this organicity, readers can formulate some considerations that are equally applicable to all the sections. It is worth noting that the contents are made accessible to specialists from different fields by providing definitions of sector-specific terminology. Furthermore, the clear writing style and uncluttered presentation of the data ensure that the text is readily accessible to a broader audience than specialists. Readability is facilitated by straightforward language and the frequent use of open-ended questions to clarify the objectives of the enquiry. Most chapters close with a conclusion paragraph summarizing the issues dealt with in the corresponding section. Tables, graphs, drawings, maps, and appendices allow immediate data consultation (sometimes facilitated by explanatory notes) and lighten the text by separating the more strictly technical data. A rich photographic apparatus enhances the chapters. In addition to offering a pleasant reading experience, the photos have a specific documentary value. Therefore, it would have been helpful to add the specific year in which the individual shots were taken, especially in the case of ‘landscape images’.
Each chapter describes research in a specialized area, but the data are always set within a broad theoretical perspective. In terms of approach, the theoretical and historical background is primarily focused on the British perspective. While this positioning is justified in the case of the fieldwork’s methodological concerns (given the general tradition of ‘landscape archaeology’ and the authors’ academic background), it is more surprising in the case of historical themes. The bibliography on specific archaeological topics is very rich in references to non-English studies, while the cited sources are less balanced when it comes to broad themes (e.g. general framing of Romanization; sociological analysis of contemporary Tuscany). In these areas, it would have been worthwhile to pay some more attention to including references in other languages when they are more up-to-date or able to provide a more detailed overview.
Combining data from the geographic-topographical study with cultural and anthropological research fosters an influential debate on landscape in archaeology. This integrated methodology focuses on the diachronic development of a specific geographic area, especially in terms of its economic, social and cultural spheres. Graeme Barker and Tom Rasmussen provide a concise but lucid overview of this intellectual context in the first chapter (“The Tuscania Archaeological Survey: Rationale, Aims and Objectives”). This section also provides insights into the methodology and techniques used to map the survey area. Although the Tuscania Archeological Survey fieldwork expressively builds on the work of the South Etruria Survey, it focuses on research issues tailored to the specific geographic area, leading to results that are sometimes discordant with those of the mother project. Since the project has covered an extensive and heterogeneous area, the volume is a valuable vademecum-like model for designing similar projects. The fact that the authors clearly point out strengths but are also lucid in highlighting the problems and limitations of data collection, processing, and analysis makes this potential even more tangible.
More technical and detailed insight into the techniques and technologies adopted in data collection and post-processing is provided in the second chapter (“Methodologies”). At a textual level, the decision-making processes are usually framed in light of the state of the art and compared to choices made in comparable projects. In this section, graphics are a particularly effective tool for comprehending content.
The third chapter (“The Natural Landscape and Its Evolution”) explains environmental data and geomorphic changes that impacted the survey area over time. This section is thus a stand-alone tool for comparison and a database for framing the analysis in the following chapters.
The fourth chapter (“Prehistoric Landscapes”) offers a novel perspective on the prehistory of the area under investigation. Significantly, even for these most ancient chronological phases, a combined analysis of evidence and lack of evidence allows the authors to develop hypotheses about the type of settlements in the area and related socio-economic structure of the people who lived there.
The fifth chapter (“Etruscan Urbanization, c. 700-300 BC”) provides real fuel for studying Etruscan land use. This section illustrates how the authors interpreted the collected data to achieve their goals (i.e., analyzing the landscape context as a ‘system’ in which different actors relate to each other, impacting the territory and leaving traces of their presence and the equilibria existing at the time). The thorough classification of ceramics is noteworthy. The technical analysis of forms and clay is combined with an analysis of functions and distribution (networks of exchange and trade), thus facilitating site identification and classification. Site-specific classification is complemented by targeted comparisons that show the effort to contribute to defining a general framework for studying ancient pottery production.
A significant Landscape Histories section (aptly and tellingly in the plural) follows the more technical sections on ceramics. Chronology-based subsections combine the collected data with the results gleaned from historical research to achieve a sophisticated reconstruction of the area’s evolution over time (especially in terms of genesis and development of the urban model) and its spatial configuration.
The sixth (“‘Romanisation’: The Roman Republican Period, c. 300-30 BC”) and seventh chapters (“The Roman Imperial and Late Antique Periods, c. 30 BC-c. AD 700”) address different chronological phases of the Roman period. In addition to the relevance of the findings, this part of the analysis is noteworthy for its explicating methodological challenges and implications arising from applying different methodologies, along with comparisons to previous research findings (e.g., the Forma Italiae survey). The complexity addressed in the study of these historical phases does not hinder the effort to outline a general picture of the «socio-economic landscape» (pp. 208; 241) over the centuries (e.g. in terms of housing, settlement and demographic trends, changes in rural properties, patterns of manufacture and production periods, fluctuations in trade and exchange). Chapter six constitutes an example of how, in this project, the attention to recording multiple changes at different levels allows for an account of complexity (cf. the plural form «site histories»: p. 229) instead of imposing a forcedly monolithic narrative.
The eighth chapter (“Incastellamento and Its Aftermath: Medieval and Modern Landscapes, c. AD 700 to the Present”) affords a broad chronological perspective on post-classical phases. The decision not to detach the later materials from the review and to align the analysis as consistently as possible with the methodology employed for the earlier phases is partly due to fieldwork-related circumstances (notably, post-processing of data relies on the unique, shared methods of ceramic sherd collection). However, it is also in keeping with the effort of defining historical trends beyond the traditional boundaries between individual disciplines, boundaries that are superstructural with respect to the analysis of long-term phenomena. This endeavour also includes concluding remarks (suggestive but somewhat simplistic) on contemporary socio-economic and cultural processes in central Italy.
After offering an overall picture of the historical trends presented in the previous chapters, the ninth chapter (“A Mediterranean Landscape from Prehistory to Modernity”) focuses on cross-cutting topics such as technical methodologies (GIS maps) and how some of the Tuscania survey’s results have contributed to the Mediterranean alluviation debate.
Preceding the final, comprehensive list of references and index (a unique list of names, places and relevant terms) are two rich appendices distinguished by their usefulness, provide the core set of technical data. Appendix I, on the Etruscan coarse wares, includes pottery classification with precise findspots and drawings) and Appendix II, a survey gazetteer, includes maps of the survey units/squares and related tables. This set forms the documentary basis of the previous chapters’ analysis, focused on meeting the project’s main objective: to construct a “long-term and holistic archaeological history about the people living in the environs of Tuscania before and during the town’s existence”. Throughout the book, this goal is complemented by an even more ambitious one, namely gleaning insights into how those people «perceived their changing landscape and their place within it» (p. 280). Perception of space and landscape is a complex topic about which landscape archaeology can be considered a primary voice but which cannot be defined by landscape archaeology alone, as a self-referential discipline. For example, it would be beneficial and groundbreaking to consider the interaction with iconographic and visual studies of ancient art.
In this network of interlinked objectives, In the Footspteps of the Etruscans plays a prominent role in furthering scientific research not only by providing a substantial store of data and subsequent reliable interpretation but also by representing a true benchmark in terms of methodological rigor and intellectual honesty.
Authors and Titles
- The Tuscania Archaeological Survey: Rationale, Aims and Objectives, Graeme Barker, Tom Rasmussen
- Methodologies, Graeme Barker, Tom Rasmussen, Alison MacDonald, Annie Grant, Nicoletta Vullo
- The Natural Landscape and Its Evolution, Tony Brown, Clare Ellis, Edward Rhodes
- Prehistoric Landscapes, Graeme Barker, Francesco di Gennaro, Tim Reynolds
- Etruscan Urbanization, c. 700–300 BC, Tom Rasmussen, Marco Rendeli, Graeme Barker
- ‘Romanization’: The Roman Republican Period, c. 300–30 BC, Alison MacDonald, Jeremy Taylor, Annie Grant
- The Roman Imperial and Late Antique Periods, c. 30 BC–c. AD 700, Alison MacDonald, Annie Grant
- Incastellamento and Its Aftermath: Medieval and Modern Landscapes, c. AD 700 to the Present, Helen Patterson, Graeme Barker, Tom Rasmussen
- A Mediterranean Landscape from Prehistory to Modernity, Graeme Barker, Tom Rasmussen, Nicoletta Vullo
Appendix I – The Tuscania Archaeological Survey Etruscan Coarse Wares
Appendix II – The Tuscania Archaeological Survey Gazetteer