Networks and transcultural evidence in late iron age Bisenzio (Capodimonte, VT, Italy, 750–730 BCE)

The community that thrived between the 2nd millennium BCE and the 5th century BCE at Bisenzio, near Capodimonte on Lake Bolsena, i.e. the hinterland of Southern Etruria (today's Northern Latium), is counted among the most important proto-urban communities of the early phase of the Early Iron Age in the Italian Peninsula (ca. 930/20–800 BCE). Despite this reading, some scholars believe that already during the 8th century BCE, Bisenzio was dependent on another neighbouring centre, i.e. Vulci, Tarquinia, or Orvieto. Thanks to the mass of data being systematically collected by ‘The Bisenzio Project’, an unexpected picture is emerging that prompts a rethink of the aforementioned paradigm. Among the many contexts considered by the project are the burials of the rich Olmo Bello necropolis. In this paper, the features of grave Olmo Bello 16 are commented on. In particular the investigation of the chemical composition, the isotope ratios, and the manufacturing of a silver wire, as well as the identification of some unique and highly informative organic substances, and the discussion of the contents of a flask made of perishable material, provide important new insights on the geographical and cultural dynamism of the highest echelons of Bisenzio, otherwise considered as a peripheric community.