As Potts's introduction begins with a quotation attributed to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (p. 1), so too, I begin with a quip often associated with the architect: ‘God is in the details’ (The New York Times, 19/08/1969, p. 1). Indeed, architectural details – monumental and minute, utilitarian and ornamental – represent the primary evidence used by the contributors to this volume. It is through investigations such as these that more comprehensive datasets and shifts in our understanding of architectural and social history will emerge. This welcome and well-edited volume, a product of a 2018 workshop held at Somerville College, Oxford, explores frequently overlooked architectural components from central Italy and beyond between the ninth and fifth centuries bce. The series of close examinations of architectural features, innovations and decorations illustrates that underappreciated elements of early Italian architecture can shed light on our understanding of architectural phenomena and the connectivity of ancient crafts and craftspeople.
Potts's introduction outlines the purpose and necessity of the work. By using individual elements of buildings and sites, the volume produces episodic meta-analyses of early architecture focusing on Etruria and Rome (p. 1). Her chapter thematically navigates the overarching and interconnected themes of the other scholars’ contributions. A common impetus behind these investigations is to uncover what architectural elements can tell us concerning the shared knowledge, cultures and labour of the people living in central Italy during these early centuries (p. 8). The discussions in the volume primarily represent a recent (re-)focus on the architecture of this region and early period (Potts, Religious Architecture in Latium and Etruria [2018]; P.M. Miller, Continuity and Change in Etruscan Domestic Architecture [2017]; J.N. Hopkins, The Genesis of Roman Architecture [2016]). The book also fits within the push to discover and disentangle interconnections in regions of the wider Mediterranean (L. Zamboni, M. Fernández-Götz and C. Metzner-Nebelsick, Crossing the Alps [2020]; L. Niesiołowski-Spanò and M. Węcowski, Change, Continuity, and Connectivity [2018]; M.L. Thomas and G.E. Meyers, Monumentality in Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture [2012]).
The second chapter, ‘The Silent Roofing Revolution’ by J.M. Turfa, provides a thorough overview of the Etruscan tie-beam truss, including the origins of this technology, an exposition of calculating approximate mass and stress, and potential explanations concerning the variants in beam size. It is one of the more technical contributions to the volume. The section describing the calculations for roofing stress is a masterclass in disseminating information concerning applying mathematical formulae to ancient architecture. Table 2.1 in this chapter is a modified version of a similar table found in J.M. Turfa and A.G. Steinmayer's article (PBSR 64 [1996], Table 2). This chapter expands on the foundational information outlined in the 1996 article, thus fitting the contribution into the purpose of the volume: to use established datasets to investigate further the people and connections concerned with designing and constructing these buildings. The second half of the chapter provides strong evidence for central Italian builders’ early professionalism and specialisation beginning in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The consistent parallels drawn to later Roman, Medieval and modern building techniques and tools further provide a solid argument for the importance of Italic ingenuity.
Chapter 3, N.A. Winter's ‘Architectural Terracottas of Central Italy within Their Wider Mediterranean Context,’ is a well-organised survey of architectural design and decoration of the seventh and sixth centuries bce – reflective of Winter's larger body of work. A table of comparable and unique building decoration might aid in visualising the ties between regional and local variants that Winter so thoroughly lays out. Nevertheless, the ample number of illustrations accompanying the text can be helpful for those unaccustomed to technical terms of early Italian architecture. Moreover, the detailed survey provides a framework for theories of cross-cultural influence on simas, antefixes, revetment plaques and pedimental sculpture. By doing so, Winter shows that Etruscan (and Roman) architects and workshops were essential participants in the wider Mediterranean koine. In conjunction with Winter's argument for innovative architectural decoration in Etruria and Latium, S. Crawford-Brown has recently pointed to the continued ingenuity and to Italian regional practices in palmette-type antefix design of the mid-sixth century at Minturnae and Capua (Deliciae Fictiles V [2019], p. 366). Winter's brief section on similar figural scenes depicted on revetment plaques between southern and central Italy (p. 85) provides an excellent segue into discussions found in the following chapter.
J. Hopkins's contribution, ‘The Connective Evidence for Early Roman Urbanism,’ is part of an ongoing, more extensive project. At the outset, he states that this chapter is an introduction rather than a thorough account of all corroborating evidence (p. 97). With this caveat, the chapter does a fine job illustrating that recent and past archaeological discoveries combat the purported absence of evidence for Roman urbanism in the metropolis between the late sixth and fifth centuries bce. Hopkins uses architectural sculpture as the primary data, evidentially tying this and the previous chapter, as does Hopkins's discussion of Roman and Syracusan confluences of influence (p. 99). This regional association fits well within recent scholarship on the connectivity between central and southern Italian sites of slightly later periods (S. Bernard, Building Mid-Republican Rome [2018]). Further connections seen in the later Hellenistic and mid-Republican architecture of baths of Magna Graecia (predominantly Sicily) and central Italy (e.g. S. Lucore and M. Trümper, Greek Baths and Bathing Culture [2013]) substantiate this history of regional knowledge-sharing. The final argument for viewing construction and refurbishments as part of a fluid environment over an episodic study is also well taken and promotes a new lens through which we might view the architecture of transitional periods.
Chapter 5, ‘Connecting Foundations and Roofs: the Satricum Sacellum and the Sant'Omobono Sanctuary’ by P.S. Lulof and L. Opgenhaffen, presents a snapshot of the power and capacity of collaborative digital applications. The work presented is part of a series of more expansive projects, namely the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) Theme group project ‘Biographies of Buildings’, coordinated by Lulof (p. 126 n. 5). By incorporating new technologies, such as 3D modelling and 3D scanning of architectural terracottas, combined with a critical reassessment of legacy data (original plans and old photographs [p. 133]), Lulof and Opgenhaffen demonstrate the importance of the reanalysis of previous scholarship. Given ever-emerging new evidence, interconnections and technologies, this painstaking task is necessary and holds the power to reinterpret previous conclusions. This reassessment of legacy data and the application of 3D technologies is part of a burgeoning field of study that will doubtlessly change our understanding of historical sites and past scholarship (legacy data: e.g. P. Brocato and N. Terrenato, La Roma dei Re [2019]; digital applications: e.g. M. Brennan and L. Christiansen, Digital Heritage [2018]; B. Frischer, G. Zotti, Z. Mari and G.C. Vittozzi, Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage [2016]).
Chapter 6, ‘Architectural Choices in Etruscan Sacred Areas: Tarquinia in Its Mediterranean Setting’, by G. Bagnasco Gianni, investigates the connections between the design, orientation and architectural elements of Etruscan temples, namely at Tarquinia. The primary focus of the article relates to two sacred areas at Tarquinia: the ‘monumental complex’ and the Ara della Regina sanctuary. Bagnasco Gianni presents connections between the orientation of the temples of Tarquinia, the Spring equinox in mid-March, and the sensory experience of the cult at this Etruscan site. Such an archaeoastronomical approach embeds itself within fascinating current models and theories (G. Magli, Archaeoastronomy [2020]). The final section of the chapter provides a brief investigation into the terminology of the Pyrgi tablets and their relationship to funerary spaces, creating a link to the seventh and final chapter of the volume.
The culminating chapter, ‘Connections in Death: Etruscan Tomb Architecture, c. 800–400 bc’ by S. Steingräber, shifts the focus from religious and public architecture to funerary spaces in Etruria. This chapter adds to recent research into the interrelated nature of Mediterranean funerary practice and architecture (e.g. E. Thiermann, The Archaeology of Death [2018]). From the outset, Steingräber pinpoints the prime difficulty in establishing connections between Etruscan and broader Mediterranean funerary architecture: the shortage of published excavation reports and the absence of a comprehensive manual on Etruscan tombs (p. 175). Laments of such lacunae in our datasets also permeate other chapters in this volume (Hopkins; Lulof and Opgenhaffen), articulating a common impediment in modern archaeology study. This admission does not prohibit Steingräber from establishing various degrees of connections between the architecture of the dead and living, both in Etruria and beyond. As a case study, Steingräber looks at rock tomb architecture of the Archaic through the Hellenistic periods. Identifying Etruria's place in the temporally long and geographically wide history of rock-cut tomb architecture is challenging. Comparing the rock tombs of Plan di Mola in Tuscania, which emerge in the sixth century bce, with much earlier versions in Asia Minor leads Steingräber to conclude that external influence on Etruscan tombs is visible conceptually, though not necessarily typologically (pp. 191–2).
What is absent from the volume's primary methodological approach is a concrete definition of ‘connectivity’ that the contributors strive to illustrate, although, throughout the work, they consistently demonstrate connections. The volume's editor addresses this head-on at the end of the introduction, stating that the lens of connectivity is ‘deliberately loose’ (p. 18). While this might pose an issue for some, such an open-ended discussion of connectivity helps to create a foundation from which a more straightforward definition might evolve. The initial stages of producing connectivity models must begin by establishing and analysing robust datasets that substantiate claims that such connections, influences or parallels exist.
The volume is a valuable collection of articles designed to begin discussions concerning overlooked architectural evidence (terracotta elements, truss systems and legacy data) and its application in furthering studies and reanalysis of ancient architecture. Sacred architecture represents the most frequently cited source of evidence, although various contributors investigate related or distinct contexts. Of particular note is the formatting of the book. Full-colour images used throughout and bibliographies at the end of each chapter present a convenient mode of exploring relevant supporting resources. Efforts to combat gatekeeping by providing translations of unique terms used within the contributions, a practice that opens the door for interdisciplinary studies and accessibility, is highly appreciated. Likewise, the straightforward presentation of the volume will likely prove rewarding for those choosing to assign one or more chapters as essential reading for ancient art and architecture students.
