Attention Students: Help excavate at Cetamura in Summer 2010: Click here for more information
2009 Exhibition: "The Sanctuary of the Etruscan Artisans at Cetamura del Chianti: The Legacy of Alvaro Tracchi"
Cetamura is an ancient hilltop settled by Etruscans and Romans,
located in the heart of the Chianti district of Tuscany, near
Gaiole, Radda and Castellina in Chianti (province of Siena). Research
by faculty and students of Florida State University has been conducted
since the opening of the site in 1973. Nancy T. de Grummond is
project director.
Recent results at Cetamura have indicated multiple phases of Etruscan
settlement --Archaic, "Classical", and at least two
phases in the Hellenistic period. There is a hiatus in occupation
during the fifth century and much of the fourth century B.C.E.
From the Hellenistic period comes extensive evidence of an Etruscan
artisans' area, featuring a kiln and cisterns,adjoining a sanctuary
with surviving monumental stone foundations, multiple altars and
votive deposits. Roman baths of the early Roman Empire have been
unearthed, as well as a medieval castrum, or fortified village
at the site in the twelfth century. Documents of the abbey of
Badia a Coltibuono, upon the property of which the site is located,
refer to the medieval settlement by the name of Civitamura.
In the year 2000, to celebrate more than 25 years of research
at Cetamura, Florida State University, in collaboration with the
office of the mayor and the Pro Loco Committee of Gaiole, held
an exhibition of finds from the site. At the same time much of
the principal evidence on Cetamura was presented in a catalog
published in connection with the exhibition, entitled Cetamura
Antica, Traditions of Chianti, edited by de Grummond (Italian
translation by Alba Frascarelli, Cetamura Antica, Tradizioni del
Chianti; both are available through this website).
|
Jeff Bray
850/644-4259 (Phone)