Pottery Production and Economic Interactions in the Tiber Valley: Kilns and Tools from the Workshop of Piano di Comunità (Veii)

This poster aims to present the preliminary study of particular discarded tools and elements related both with the firing of pottery (mainly bucchero) - that took place in vertical round kilns - and with the base-structure of the furnaces themselves, discovered in the Southern sector of Veii during the excavations carried out by the Sapienza, Università di Roma. The emphasis will be given to the qualitative and quantitative analyses of the impressive quantity of different production scraps that have been found in association with a vast inventory of ceramic fragments. Specifically, this study offers the possibility to speculate about the amount and the beneficiaries of the production in one of the most important cities in the Tiber Valley during the Archaic Period. As revealed by the remarkable number of scattered wasters collected during several surveys - like the South Etruria Survey - around the plateau, the workshop in Piano di Comunità was part of a specialized district responding to a specific economic institution, that was able to influence the movement of people and goods. Thanks to recent archaeometric analysis, two groups of materials have been probably recognized as building parts of the kiln, such as the so-called “firebars” that are thought to have formed the perforated floor of the firing chamber plus several terracotta pipes, in terms of shape comparable with roof tiles but likely working like heating ducts; in addition, an unusual class of convex burnt objects, yet without comparisons, was perhaps used to separate the vessels from the direct contact with the firebars, creating a sort of plane floor. At last, various kiln supports complete the apparatus. To sum up, the key-role of Veii in the economic exchanges in the river valley context and its relationship with Rome probably influenced also the development of the handicraft knowledge.