Etruscan fleet – Wikipedia

Divinity of the Etruscan Sea (Nethuns?).

The Etruscan fleet is a term which indicates a convergence of predominantly commercial interests of the coastal cities of the Maritime Etruria, close to Caere, Tarquinia, Vetlonia and Populonia, which united their fleet whenever their common interest was threatened.

Fufluns, the Dionysos of the Tyrrhenians was a very important deity of the Etruscan Pantheon. Dump (Populonia), a city dedicated to this god was a maritime city with a regular port.

The Etruscans had often conflicting, sometimes harmonious trade relationships, with the other peoples who sailed in the Mediterranean like the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians. Part of the Greeks considered them pirates ^{[ first ] , [ 2 ]} Even if at the time piracy was a common practice and was one of the various expeditions so -called commercial or exploratory .

“Here, in their naves with the solid rowing benches, Tyrrhenian pirates arrived quickly on the black sea, and a bad destiny brought them. »»

– Homer, Hymn in Dionysos , translation of Leconte de Lisle, 1868.

During the period of conflict with the Greek cities, these were rather war actions (corsair) than piracy or real military expeditions.

“The power of the Etruscans was so great that their fame was not only on earth, but also on the sea, on the entire extension of Italy, from the Alps to the Strait of Messina. »»

— Tite-Live

It is impossible to precisely determine the type of boats used by Etruscan sailors:

• Absence of original Etruscan writings
• Rarity of archaeological evidence.

Characteristics in relation to the testimonies of the entries [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The testimonies that have come down to us are rare and indirect. Their source is Greek and Latin.

The ancient Greek historian Denys of Halicarnasse wrote that “the Etruscans had great experience in the navy” and therefore had to master the construction of ships.
Their frequent contacts with the Phoenicians and the Greeks allowed them to perfect their knowledge in the maritime field.

The Greek and Latin authors give us some information on the structure and equipment of the boats used by the Etruscans: Pliny the old evokes the contribution of the Etruscans in the invention of a spur for offensive purposes ( rostrum ), while Tite-Live speaks of linen sails, keel, coasts and internal pieces in oak and beech and the more exposed parts in spruce and wax wood.
Théophraste reports that beech trees whose trunks measured around thirty meters alone constituted the keel of a Tyrrhenian ship.

The information provided by ancient authors at the peak of the Etruscan naval activity is as follows:

• Etruscan ships could reach thirty meters long.
• For the construction of ships were used wood species such as pine, fir, beech and oak.
• The boats had a shell with a good frame and coating, mast and linen sails.
• The boats were used for both offensive and disturbing actions and for travel and fishing.

Characteristics in relation to the testimonies of discoveries [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Monoxyle [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Gold Etruscan jewel representing a small boat

The term monoxyle (Greek single – Single, unique – mile – trunk), Greek terminology ( justice ), refers to the type of boat obtained from the hollowing out of a tree trunk ^{[ 5 ]} . Monoxyle is a testimony on the hypothetical aspect of certain ships used in cabotage and fishing in the Villanovian period. Found in Sasso Di Furbara, in the southern Tolfa area, monoxyle was dated the second half of the VIII ^{It is} century of. J.-C. And was used as a sarcophagus.

Other discoveries [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The most important finds concerning the appearance, nature and appearance of Etruscan ships (or at least ships used by the inhabitants of the Etruria), date from the Etruscan archaic period.

The difficulty of identifying a wreck as “Etruscan” comes from the absence of comparison and specific information on the exact nature of the Etrusic ships.

Among the wrecks known and studied, none can be considered in a certain way as Etrusque; Indeed the loads are not homogeneous enough and do not contain a sufficient amount of Etruscan equipment to determine their origin.
As a result, although Etruscan amphorae has been found in Etruria, Latium, Campania, Sicily, Corsica, Spain as well as in the south of France, we have no certainty as to the identity of ships.

Among the main discoveries:

• Cap d’Antibes (1955). This ship whose dating of the disaster is estimated in the first half of the WE ^{It is} century of. J.-C. Probably comes from the wearing of Vulci or Pyrgi, the official port of Caere (Cerveteri) with two hundred Etruscan amphorae, vases and pots of Buccheri Etrusco-Corinthians, a lead anchor, a Phoenician or Punic oil lamp. The wreckage and its load were considered of Etruscan origin, but it does not give useful information on the structure of the ship.
• The wreck of good worn (end of WE ^{It is} century) found off the Saint-Tropez coast. This ship had a loading of Etruscan amphorae for three-quarters and the rest came from Greece. This wreckage is one of the few examples of the models with “sewn shell” ( suitiles Naves ). There is no certainty that this wreckage will be enhanced because there is a lack of inscriptions and the on -board equipment that could give more precise information on the origin of the ship.

Since the literary and archaeological sources are rare and uncertain, the representation of the boats used in Etruria is conceivable almost exclusively on the basis of iconographic sources, that is to say, by the reproductions of engravings or drawings by the very Etruscans of their ships and their lives in relation to the sea.

Villanovian period ships [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The only relevant documents on the knowledge of the boats used in Etruria in the Villanova period, the oldest period in Etruscan history, are made up of the many models of clay boats found in the tombs of the southern centers, mainly regions coastal or near rivers.
These imitations of small ships, that the Etruscans buried their dead with other votive objects, like all the miniatures Villanoviennes found in the tombs, they had to represent the activities that the deceased exercised or in which he had distinguished himself during his earthly life. As a result, activities related to navigation should have great importance for Villanoviens as a source of wealth and prestige.

The models found allow us to identify different types of boats:

• Symmetrical and rounded boats with flat or protruding bottom.

• The flat -bottomed models were found mainly in Tarquinia (with a bird’s head at the front).
  In Cerveteri and Campi Bisenzio were found miniatures of sailing boats adapted to the sea but over short distances close to the coast. This type was also present in the North Tyrrhenian sea. The Etruscan shells are stocky and massive, probably because of different sea conditions in both parts of the Mediterranean. The same type of boat is painted on a vase, the oldest known to date with the representation of a ship, which has been found in Bisenzio.

• The models with a more carréné hull, that is to say protruding with a rounded and voluminous shell, more suitable for the transport of goods, more suitable for transport over large distances. Some older copies also show important details concerning structure and equipment: obvious keel, interior reinforcements, sails and oars.

Representations in the tombs [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Even if the rich items found in tombs dating from the oriental period, that is to say between 700 and 550 of. J.-C. , arrived in Etruria thanks to the development of exchanges and contacts by sea, they were buried with the dead in order to testify to the wealth and prestige that these men had reached thanks to their maritime activities.

The models of the boats had thus become one of the most visible symbols of the power of principles , without being the only objects that have shown the importance of navigation and trade in Etruria.

The maritime activities carried out in coastal cities have in fact been well documented in painted, engraved, carved or reproduced bas-relief scenes on ceramics, bronzes, ivories as well as in the paintings of the Vessel From the Monterozzi necropolis.

Boat models have almost always been discovered in the tombs of interior cities, often on the edges of rivers and lakes or in coastal ports near the mouths of the rivers. This may explain why the models of this period represent slim and light flat -bottomed boats, with rowed symmetrical ends, adapted to interior waters or limited to navigation in coastal marshes, to the mouth of the rivers or to short courses coast. The activities of this type of ship could relate to small trade, fishing and the transport of people on short journeys.

Representations on vases [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The ships usually reproduced on vases and other objects are always large and have characteristics that demonstrate their ability to sea navigation. They are often described in narrative scenes give guidelines on the activities they exercise.
The representation often reproduces a type of ship which, due to its particular characteristics, can be considered original and therefore defined as “Etruscan”.

External influences [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Initially, the shape of the ships used in Etruria was strongly influenced by the models of the Aegean Sea, in particular those of the Corinthians, and Phoenicians. Subsequently, despite the inevitable persistent influences of the fleets crisscrossing the Mediterranean, the Etruscan ships to judge by the paintings, assumed their own identity.

Etruscanizing ship orientalizing [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The Etruscanian orientaling ship reproduced with a very wide and large shell has a particular shape, mainly characterized by the constant presence of a large spur (rostrum) to the bow.

The ship was intended for trade, but the presence of powerful competitors and the often bellicose living conditions imposed the use of a boat that can meet any eventuality, allowing mixed use.

“Among the major naval inventions, a certain Pisaeus Tyrrheni … added a rostrum to the round ship to make it a warship. »»

– Pliny the old, VIII, 209

The same boat, for example, is present in fishing scenes, commercial navigation and in naval battles. The rostrum could not only be used to spurn enemy ships, but could also be useful in order to ensure stability and better buoyancy.

The warships were tapered and about thirty meters long. The driving force was made up of the action of rowers arranged on one or two rows. The wind strength was also used but in an auxiliary way.

Originally the boats were devoid of a bridge, but gradually they were endowed with a higher bridge where sailors and soldiers took place.

The rostrum was inserted on the prow of the ship. This flush the surface of the water was used during fights to sparland enemy ships (the Greeks recognize this invention with the trumpet with the trumpet ^{[ 6 ]} .

Another Etruscan innovation: the improvement of marine anchor, and the attack trumpet, first used during marine fights.

These particularities are the demonstration of the experience acquired by the Etruscans in the field of naval construction.

The ascent of the Etruscan power has reached its peak between the VII ^{It is} and the IN ^{It is} century of. J.-C. , but especially at WE ^{It is} century of. J.-C. . This period is called Thalassocracy (maritime domination), many principles And merchants were equipped with fleets and developed ports and shipyards.

The maritime experience of the Etruscans is widely recognized by written or material sources. A topos , the crater of Aristonothos from Caere, dated 650 of. J.-C. represents the fight between a Greek ship and another Etruscan.

Coats construction technique [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Drawing of a shell sewn of a Etruscan ship flowed into the bay of good worn in the Var.

With regard to the technique of building hulls, the pictorial representations give us information confirmed by certain archaeological discoveries.

Etruscan ships were built with a technique already known in ancient Egypt and Homer time ^{[ 7 ]} Using a “sewing” in order to assemble the various elements of the shell and the shell. Secondly, the elements constituting the ship strengthening skeleton are fixed on the shell ^{[ 8 ]} .

Boats study [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The study of boats used in Etruria since Antiquity can also be useful in order to understand what types of transport were possible and were carried out during the different periods of Etruscan history. The importance of navigation at the flourishing era of the great trade and oriental cultural are confirmed by the representations of ships, which reveal a desire to commemorate the maritime companies which have contributed to the wealth and prestige of centers and men engaged in these activities.

Combat technique [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Battle scene (Aristonothos crater).

At sea the combat technique was that of maneuver and spurry, success being a function of the skill of the crews and the vigor of the rowers.

The approach between ships was accompanied by a dense throwing of projectiles often inflamed. The attack trumpet was responsible for throwing dread in the opponent; Once the docking is carried out, the crews sought to tackle long spears through. When infantry contingents were on board and the goal was the capture of the ship and its load, it was used for binding and combat in melee.

Navigation being very dangerous during the winter period, naval operations were interrupted.

Main facts of sea arms [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

WE ^{It is} century of. J.-C.

• 550 of. J.-C. : Etrusco-Carthaginian Alliance against the Greeks.
• 540 of. J.-C. : Etrusco-Carthaginian naval victory off Alalia (Corsica).

IN ^{It is} century of. J.-C.

IV ^{It is} century of. J.-C.

Etrue of the Etruscan Fleet [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

After the end of Etruscan domination, certain urban centers continued their activity under the domination of Rome ^{[ 9 ]} By bringing their skills to the Romans during the Punic Wars and contributed to the birth of their maritime power.

• Jacques Bonnin, engineer of arts and manufacturers, “the tomb of the Tarquinia ship and the Etruscan de Commerce” in White coal , n ^O 6, October 1991, p. 473-484
• Jean-René Jannot:
  • “Etruscan ships, instruments of a thalassocracy? »In Reviews of the sessions of the year … – Academy of inscriptions and Belles -Lettres (ISSN  0065-0536 ) , 1995, p. 743-778.
  • Etruscan cities and war. Notes on the military function in the Etruscan City , KTERMA, 10, 1985, p. 127-141
  • “Armament, tactics and society. Reflection on the example of the archaic extrlary “in S. Frizll Barbro (ed.), Military art and Nuragic architecture: Nuragic Architecture in Its Military Territorial and Socio-Economic Context (Swedish Institute in Rome, December 7-9, 1989), Stockholm, 1991, p. 73-81
• A.-M. Adam and A. Rouveret, “The Etruscan Cities and the War at IN ^{It is} century BCE »in Crisis and transformation of archaic societies of ancient Italy in the IN ^{It is} century of. J.-C. , Proceedings of the Round Table organized by the French School of Rome and the Etrusco-Italic Research Unit associated with the CNRS (UA 1132), Rome, 19-21
• Dominique Briquel, “the military virtues of the Etruscans” in Etruscan civilization , 1999
• Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Langlois, Some topographic and military considerations on Etruscan sites , Mixtures of archeology and history, 1927, vol. 44, n ^O 44, p. 91-102 [first]
• Jean-Noël Robert, “the army” in The Etruscans , p. 102, publisher Belles Lettres October 19, 2004, Collection Guide des Civilizations (ISBN  2251410279 And 978-2251410272 )
• (in) Mario Torelli , The Etruscans , New York, Rizzoli International Publications, 2001
• (in) Trevor Dupey , The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History , New York, Harper Collins Publisher, 1993
• (in) Dora Jane Hamblin , The Etruscans , New York, Time Life Books, 1975
• (in) Jean A’fa, Macintosh , Catalogue of the Etruscan Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology , Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Museum, 2005
• M. Giufrida, Etruscan piracy up to the battle of Cuma , Kokalos, Palerme, 1978.
• M Gras, About the Battle of Alalia , Latomus, 31, p. 698-716,1972.
• “Tyrrhenian piracy in the Aegean Sea: myth or reality? »In Mixtures , J. Heurgon, p. 341-370, 1976.
• The Etruscans and the Sea; long -term piracy , Archeology file, 24, p. 45-49, 1977.
• Georges Provot, Etrusco-public ancient wreck in Cap d’Antibes , edition by the author, 1971.
• L. Besh, The ship sewn of good door , Notebooks of underwater archeology 5, p. 37-42, 1976.