Etruscan sea-faring

There is a lack of written documentation of Etruscan maritime vessels, so most of the finer details come from depictions on pottery, depictions on tomb walls, and small models found in tombs. The Greek ship, depicted on the left, has a high curving stern and a detailed eye painted onto the bow. The other ship is of unknown origin but is hypothesized to be an Etruscan trading vessel. It has a mast but no sail, a deck with wooden supports, and three warriors standing, ready for battle. Based on the color and type of clay the krater is made of, it seems to have been manufactured in Caere where it was eventually found. The style of the krater differs from mid 7th century mainland Greece of that time, but somewhat resembles the pottery of Argos at that time. Argos was not known for being colonizers or bringing their goods elsewhere, however it is generally agreed that Argive potters probably did move around and eventually settled in the south of Italy. The shape and style of the krater reflect a mixture of Greek and western influences, and most scholars agree that it was made by a Greek potter living in Caere. The large ship has a round hull and rigging similar to a depiction of a Greek merchant vessel seen on an Attic cup from the late 6th century BCE. The tomb itself is dated to the beginning of the 5th century BCE. Other depictions The Tragliatella Oinochoe is an oinochoe found in a necropolis in Tragliatella, east of Caere. It depicts on it what appears to be a family and other figures as well as an Etruscan boat, pictured vertically. The meaning of the images on the oinochoe are debated to be either reflexive of Etruscan family beliefs or depictions from Greek mythology. There are miniature clay models of 9th-8th century BCE Etruscan boats found in tombs in Caere and Tarquinia. The oldest models are of smaller, probably monoxylon crafts, and the newer models are more complex, with multiple deck levels, masts, and ornamentation. Some of these models have, at one or both extremities of the craft, modeled heads of ducks. Some of these models have holes in them resembling oar ports. Some have a base that extends beyond the craft, likely portraying the keel and its cutwater. == Appearance and function ==

A few recognizable shipwrecks have been found, and their contents and construction have shown more about how they were made and how they were used, both supporting the artistic depictions and including more intricate details. Shipwrecks The La Love shipwreck found off the coast Cap d'Antibes provides a fair picture of what goods Etruscan cargo ships would be carrying into other regions of the Mediterranean. Presumably hailing from the mainland, around Caere, it held more than 180 amphorae, stored in staggered rows, around eighty other ceramic and bucchero pieces, and three stone anchor stocks. This was a mid-sized ship, at around fifteen meters long. The Grand Ribaud F shipwreck, found off of the Giens peninsula, was a similar type of ship, but it held an estimated 1000 amphorae along with some bronze basins and discs and some other Etrsucan ceramic pieces from Caere. This was a fairly large ship, at or more than 25 meters long, capable of carrying up to forty tons. This type of ship was typical carrying a single type of product from its origin to another region to be traded. Other ships carried multiple types of products. Surviving examples of these include the Giglio, which was on the larger side of these types of ships, and the Bon Porté 1, which were both named for the islands off of which they were each discovered. The Giglio carried amphorae, Greek and Etruscan ceramics, copper, iron, and lead ingots, a bronze Corinthian helmet. By its size and build, it seems likely that the Giglio engaged in cross-Mediterranean trade charters. The Bon Porté 1 was a smaller ship, around ten meters in length, was more likely to charter coastal trade routes. It carried amphorae of Etruscan and Massalian origin, and was found to be a Massalian ship engaging in local distribution trade. The two ships were identical in all but their size. and the origins of most shipwrecks are somewhat debated. Later ships, including the Jules Verne 7, employed more mortise and tenon joints, leaving the sewn parts to extremities of the hull. One of the earliest examples of a depiction of an Etruscan boat was on a vase from Veii, from the beginning of the 7th century BCE. It has curling motifs on the bow and on the top of the mast, and has an upward curve on the stern. It shows a mixed propulsion system, with the oars out and the sail furled. There are lines indicating rigging made up of more than one type of fitting, including stays, shrouds, and braces. It has two quarter rudders on the stern and a point coming from the bow, interpreted to be a ram. == Etruscan sea-farers ==

Etruscan ships were crewed by different groups of people for different reasons. The main use, and the one for which there is the most evidence, was trade. There was also an Etruscan naval presence and written accounts of naval battles between the Etruscans, with the help of their allies, and the other inhabitants of the Mediterranean. Etruscan pirates are a controversial topic among scholars, who use the evidence supporting the idea that they existed and the contesting evidence used to argue that they didn't, or at the very least, didn't exist in the capacity they were written about. Trade At the beginning of the 6th century BCE, a new phase, later called the emporium phase, was started. Along with the new trade routes to Massalia and Gravisca, thanks to Phocaen merchants, came changes to organization of both trade routes and destinations. Before this shift, people of the higher classes would personally control the trade having to do with their land and goods. That role was then passed to professional navigators, usually of a lower class, who used this maritime trade responsibility as a means of social advancement. Since elites were no longer responsible for organizing trade routes, more cities established marked sections for trade filled with lower class workers and foreigners having come to sell their goods. Military Main article: Etruscan military history Though mainly used for trade, there were also times when an Etruscan naval presence was necessary. Battles like the one near Alalia and the one near Cumae had the Etruscans fighting on the water. The Battle of Alalia, fought off the shore of Corsica over the city, Alalia, was fought between the Etruscans, with help from the Carthaginians, and the Greeks. Greeks had already colonized Alalia, but when another wave of colonists, having just fought the Persians, came to the island trying to live there. When they were refused by the Greeks who already lived there, they set up in ships, attacking the Etruscan port cities of Pisa and Populonia. The Etruscans invoked a treaty made with the Carthaginians, and their navies combined to fight these ransacking Greek ships, ultimately losing. This is a debated topic, possibly originating in the Homeric hymn to Dionysus which, from lines 6-12, reads There soon approached a ship with sturdy benches— Bad fortune brought Etruscan pirates near Over the wine-dark sea, and when they saw him, They nudged each other, rushed ashore, and caught him. They threw him in their boat, gleefully thinking He was the son of heaven-nurtured rulers They set about to tie him with their hard ropes. An Attic red-figure cup displays this scene, depicting what is inferred as a typical Greek pirate ship. However, the techniques seen in Etruscan ship building lean more towards defense, as is the case with merchant ships, than offense, as would be the case for pirates. Pirates, in order to have the capability of seeking out merchant ships and intercepting them, need to use ships faster than merchant ships, like warships. == References ==