Local, import and imitation pottery at Cerveteri: new perspectives on early Etruscan connectivity in Italy and in the eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

From the ninth to the seventh century BC, the Etruscan city of Cerveteri was one of the major cities of the Mediterranean. Its advantageous position allowed the aristocratic rulers of the town to establish an intense network of trade and cultural connections. In this paper I will examine the material evidence, with a focus on imports, imitations and hybrid pottery at Cerveteri and on Caeretan products abroad, to investigate three major (though not the only) connection routes: the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic link, between the two opposite shores of central Italy, connecting Cerveteri to the Ager Picenus; the Tyrrhenian coastal route, linking the Etruscans to the diverse populations of Campania and Sicily; and the overseas connections, reaching the central and the eastern Mediterranean. The study of the material outcomes of these three routes helps in understanding the dynamics of pottery import and imitation as well as their potential correlation with movements of people.