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Issued by:Laura L. Hunt
Phone: 414-229-6447
llhunt@uwm.edu
Nov. 1, 2006
UWM Lecture Centers on Etruscan Sites, Italy's Earliest Cities
MILWAUKEE — Discover how Etruscan culture influenced the development of Italy’s earliest cities when Anthony Tuck, an assistant professor of archaeology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, presents “The Etruscan Site of Poggio Civitate: The Urban Process of Italy’s First Towns.”
The lecture is on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 3 p.m. in room G90 of Sabin Hall, 3413 N. Downer Ave.
From the village complexes of the Iron Age, the first cities in central Italy emerged in the late eighth century and are largely known for their remarkable cemeteries that cluster around fortified urban centers. Until recently, however, very little was known about urbanization in north-central reaches of Italy.
Recent excavation at the site of Poggio Civitate, near the city of Murlo, has revealed the presence of an opulent aristocratic center with some of Italy’s earliest known examples of monumental architecture and sculpture. But additional excavation there also reveals the presence of “satellite” settlements on nearby hills, suggesting that the region developed along somewhat different lines, with segregated political and social groupings.
Tuck received his Ph.D. from Brown University and currently serves as director of excavations at the Etruscan site of Poggio Civitate (Murlo). He has published extensively on topics including Etruscan burial form, economics and urban development, and has recently worked on the topic of ancient textile manufacture.
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