I metalli a Pyrgi tra circolazione, tesaurizzazione e offerta

Ancient authors record the extraordinary wealth of Pyrgi’s sanctuary through the account of the looting by Dionysius of Syracuse in 384 BC. The treasury stolen from Leucothea’s and Apollo’s sanctuary yielded 1000 talents (Diod. 15. 14. 3-4) or 500 talents (Polyaen. Stratagem. 5. 2. 21), and a special mention is made to the silver trapeza ripped away from Apollo (Aelian. Var. Hist. 1. 20). The hoard of 9 silver greek from the rear of temple A is to be considered a relic of the great amount of cash that circulated and was kept in the Monumental Sanctuary, as the seat of Caere’s aerarium. On the other hand, the well-known votive deposits from the Southern Sanctuary highlight the hoarding of economic resources strictly connected with ctonic/demetriac cults. This paper provides an overview and quantification of the extraordinary amount of metal (gold, silver, bronze, iron, lead) finds recovered from both Pyrgi’s Sanctuaries and the public ceremonial quarter N of temple A, considering all categories of objects (ingots, premonetary bronze, inscribed tablets, jewels, weapons, containers and tools, furniture) and evidence for the ritual use of melted metal.