Papers by Mattia Bischeri
FOLD&R, 2024
This paper presents the preliminary results of the first geophysical campaign carried out in 2023... more This paper presents the preliminary results of the first geophysical campaign carried out in 2023 at Chiusi (central Italy, Siena), one of the most important Etruscan city-states of the Northern internal Etruria. The research was conducted in collaboration between the Municipality of Chiusi, the Soprintendenza ABAP-SI and Radaring company. The modern urban area of Chiusi conserves a large stratigraphical palimpsest, with a continuity of occupation from the Bronze age toward Etruscan, Roman and Middle age period. This geophysical campaign aimed to explore some key-site of the historical city-center, in order to better understand the urban layout of the ancient city to elaborate a new archaeological map. The geophysical anomalies identified have been interpreted integrating archaeological and archival data and, in few cases, tested by targeted archaeological excavations.
E. Mariotti, A. Salvi, J. Tabolli (eds), Il Santuario ritrovato 2. Dentro la Vasca Sacra. Rapporto Preliminare di Scavo al Bagno Grande di San Casciano dei Bagni, Livorno 2023, pp. 153-165, 2023
The small votive bronzes, mostly bearing male or female people in act of offering or praying, are... more The small votive bronzes, mostly bearing male or female people in act of offering or praying, are a common type of sacred gift in the sanctuaries of Etruria, as well as in the Italic area. This paper aims to carry out a preliminary analysis of the Bagno Grande’s bronze figurines yielded during the excavation in 2021-2022, crossing the typology approach, in order to point out chronology and iconology issues related to the shape of the cult, and the metrological approach, based on the evaluation of size and weight in order to assess the ponderal value, comparing the unit measurements and monetary system in use between the 3rd and 1st c. BCE. Under this perspective, the bidding system of the thermal sanctuary of Bagno Grande, based on the request of healing and the gift of a right measure of metal, may appear in the same way as an economic activity, as a trading contract between the humans and the gods.
Tra protostoria e storia: l'Etruria nel cuore del Mediterraneo. Scritti in onore di Filippo Delpino per il suo 80° compleanno, Mediterranea supll. n.s. 2, 2022, pp. 263-279
The city of Veii presents a particularly developed and complex sacred topography, which remains o... more The city of Veii presents a particularly developed and complex sacred topography, which remains only partly understood. In 2014, Giovanni Colonna published a first comprehensive picture of the site: eleven sacred areas dot the plateau and the suburban area.
This contribution aims to investigate the dynamics by which the production activities related to the sphere of the sacred were organised.
The decision has been made to focus on the later, moulded productions, for which Veii is undoubtedly an important case study due to the quantity of objects that have been retrieved. In particular, specific products occur in high quantities and were distributed contemporaneously in various sacred areas in the city. It is therefore necessary to reflect on the organisation of the various ateliers and on the mechanisms by which their products were distributed to the different sacred areas.
In order to clarify some of these production dynamics, Mattia Bischeri and Carla Tulini have considered the case of the lyricine Apollo, adopting a morphometric approach.
This analysis would seem to open up a new perspective. Several “sizes” of the same objects were identified, with a calibrated percentage reduction of clay from one size to another. While this aspect may be a valid criterion for the distinction of the “generation” transition in the artisanal practice, it could also validate the idea of the existence of a standardised “sampler”, intentionally articulated by sizes within the same type. In other words, larger and more carefully retouched votive offerings may have had a higher intrinsic value, determined by the amount of raw material used and above all by the added value of the labour, thus responding not only to different religious practices, but perhaps also to variable “market” demands
Leggere il passato, costruire il futuro. Gli Etruschi e gli altri popoli del Mediterraneo. Scritti in onore di Gilda Bartoloni, Mediterranea XVIII, 2021, pp. 123-136
Between 1884-1885, in the southwest coast of Bolsena lake, Giovanni Paolozzi (collector of antiqu... more Between 1884-1885, in the southwest coast of Bolsena lake, Giovanni Paolozzi (collector of antiquities), with Napoleone and Enrico Brenciaglia (landowners in Capodimonte), carried out the first extensive excavation in the necropolis of Bisenzio (9 th-6 th c. BC). This paper-from my bachelor thesis (advisor prof. G. Bartoloni)-aims at reconstructing some Iron Age burial contexts and analysing relative materials now kept in the National Museum of Chiusi, Arezzo and Florence.
Leggere il passato, costruire il futuro. Gli Etruschi e gli altri popoli del Mediterraneo. Scritti in onore di Gilda Bartoloni, Mediterranea XVIII, 2021, pp. 133-146
Studi Etruschi 79, 2016, pp. 7-25, 2017
This paper focuses on a elliptical bronze sheet from Paolozzi’s Collection in National Museum of ... more This paper focuses on a elliptical bronze sheet from Paolozzi’s Collection in National Museum of Chiusi (SI). Some technical features and the comparisons with archaeological finds from Norchia and Veii (Casal del Fosso, tomb 1036) suggest that this artifact may be a junction element of a double shield (a specific type of schield, called by Latin sources “ancile”). The provenance is also hypothetical: the kind of decorative pattern recalls bronze productions of VIII century b.C. from Bisenzio (or Vulci), where Paolozzi carried out some archaeological investigations beetween 1884 and 1885.
Nell’ambito delle Celebrazioni Etrusche istituite dalla Regione toscana in ricordo dell’anniversa... more Nell’ambito delle Celebrazioni Etrusche istituite dalla Regione toscana in ricordo dell’anniversario della Bolla Papale del 27 agosto 1569 con cui Papa Pio V attribuì a Cosimo I il titolo di Granduca di Toscana “Magnus Dux Etruriae”, è riproposta all’attenzione del pubblico una delle collezioni archeologiche più importanti del territorio chiusino formatasi grazie alla famiglia Paolozzi e soprattutto grazie alle ricerche e acquisizioni di Giovanni Paolozzi che per lascito testamentario ha donato, nel 1907, la parte più cospicua della sua ingente raccolta all’allora Museo Civico, dal 1962 Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Chiusi.
Books by Mattia Bischeri
Mousai. Laboratorio di archeologia e storia delle arti, 2022
Bisenzio (Visentium) represents one of the main Etruscan sites in southern internal Etruria betwe... more Bisenzio (Visentium) represents one of the main Etruscan sites in southern internal Etruria between the 10th
and the 6th c. BCE, located on the southwest coast of Bolsena Lake (Province of Viterbo, central Italy). This work
offers the complete edition of the archaeological materials yielded during the first official excavations at the Etruscan
necropolises of Bisenzio, nowadays conserved at the National Archaeological Museums of Florence, Chiusi and
Arezzo, carried out by Giovanni Paolozzi and Enrico and Napoleone Brenciaglia in 1884-1885.
The volume is divided into two parts. The first part presents a brief topographical profile of the site of Bisenzio
(Chapter I) and a historical overview of the excavations in the institutional and scientific framework of post-unification
Italy (Chapter II). The gathering of documentary material, identified in various national archives and
published here in full (chapter III), has made it possible to reconstruct some details of exemplifying episodes of
the conflictual relationship, which was escalating, especially in the last twenty years of the 19th century in Italy,
between the old world of antiquarian collecting and the new state apparatus responsible for the protection of
antiquities. The second part presents the complete edition of the archaeological materials that could be traced
back to the excavations of 1884-1885: starting from the finds preserved in the National Archaeological Museum
of Florence (Chapter IV.2); which represent the main acquisitions where the public administration managed to
‘save’ the tomb contexts preserving the original associations, to the materials preserved in the National Etruscan
Museum of Chiusi (Chapter IV.3) and in the National Archaeological Museum G.C. Mecenate of Arezzo (Chapter
IV.4); unfortunately, the acquisitions are primarily out of context, which is representative of donations that the
private owners granted in favour of public museums; lastly a brief overview of the foreign exports which represent
the outcome of the commercial activities of the private individuals (Chapter IV.5). The conclusions (Chapter V)
attempt to provide a balance with an overall reading of the material analysed in the framework of the Visentine
material culture between the 9th and 6th c. BCE.
Conference Presentations by Mattia Bischeri
EAA, Belfast 30th AUG - 2nd SEPT 2023, session #398, Body ideals and ideal bodies
Cremations in Archaeology, 1th Conference (Ghent, 25-28 October 2022)
Scavi aperti su Chiusi, II ciclo di conferenze, Largo Cacioli, Chiusi 9 settembre 2023
Scavi aperti su Chiusi, I ciclo di conferenze, Chiusi, Porta Lavinia 19 agosto 2022
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Papers by Mattia Bischeri
This contribution aims to investigate the dynamics by which the production activities related to the sphere of the sacred were organised.
The decision has been made to focus on the later, moulded productions, for which Veii is undoubtedly an important case study due to the quantity of objects that have been retrieved. In particular, specific products occur in high quantities and were distributed contemporaneously in various sacred areas in the city. It is therefore necessary to reflect on the organisation of the various ateliers and on the mechanisms by which their products were distributed to the different sacred areas.
In order to clarify some of these production dynamics, Mattia Bischeri and Carla Tulini have considered the case of the lyricine Apollo, adopting a morphometric approach.
This analysis would seem to open up a new perspective. Several “sizes” of the same objects were identified, with a calibrated percentage reduction of clay from one size to another. While this aspect may be a valid criterion for the distinction of the “generation” transition in the artisanal practice, it could also validate the idea of the existence of a standardised “sampler”, intentionally articulated by sizes within the same type. In other words, larger and more carefully retouched votive offerings may have had a higher intrinsic value, determined by the amount of raw material used and above all by the added value of the labour, thus responding not only to different religious practices, but perhaps also to variable “market” demands
Books by Mattia Bischeri
and the 6th c. BCE, located on the southwest coast of Bolsena Lake (Province of Viterbo, central Italy). This work
offers the complete edition of the archaeological materials yielded during the first official excavations at the Etruscan
necropolises of Bisenzio, nowadays conserved at the National Archaeological Museums of Florence, Chiusi and
Arezzo, carried out by Giovanni Paolozzi and Enrico and Napoleone Brenciaglia in 1884-1885.
The volume is divided into two parts. The first part presents a brief topographical profile of the site of Bisenzio
(Chapter I) and a historical overview of the excavations in the institutional and scientific framework of post-unification
Italy (Chapter II). The gathering of documentary material, identified in various national archives and
published here in full (chapter III), has made it possible to reconstruct some details of exemplifying episodes of
the conflictual relationship, which was escalating, especially in the last twenty years of the 19th century in Italy,
between the old world of antiquarian collecting and the new state apparatus responsible for the protection of
antiquities. The second part presents the complete edition of the archaeological materials that could be traced
back to the excavations of 1884-1885: starting from the finds preserved in the National Archaeological Museum
of Florence (Chapter IV.2); which represent the main acquisitions where the public administration managed to
‘save’ the tomb contexts preserving the original associations, to the materials preserved in the National Etruscan
Museum of Chiusi (Chapter IV.3) and in the National Archaeological Museum G.C. Mecenate of Arezzo (Chapter
IV.4); unfortunately, the acquisitions are primarily out of context, which is representative of donations that the
private owners granted in favour of public museums; lastly a brief overview of the foreign exports which represent
the outcome of the commercial activities of the private individuals (Chapter IV.5). The conclusions (Chapter V)
attempt to provide a balance with an overall reading of the material analysed in the framework of the Visentine
material culture between the 9th and 6th c. BCE.
Conference Presentations by Mattia Bischeri
This contribution aims to investigate the dynamics by which the production activities related to the sphere of the sacred were organised.
The decision has been made to focus on the later, moulded productions, for which Veii is undoubtedly an important case study due to the quantity of objects that have been retrieved. In particular, specific products occur in high quantities and were distributed contemporaneously in various sacred areas in the city. It is therefore necessary to reflect on the organisation of the various ateliers and on the mechanisms by which their products were distributed to the different sacred areas.
In order to clarify some of these production dynamics, Mattia Bischeri and Carla Tulini have considered the case of the lyricine Apollo, adopting a morphometric approach.
This analysis would seem to open up a new perspective. Several “sizes” of the same objects were identified, with a calibrated percentage reduction of clay from one size to another. While this aspect may be a valid criterion for the distinction of the “generation” transition in the artisanal practice, it could also validate the idea of the existence of a standardised “sampler”, intentionally articulated by sizes within the same type. In other words, larger and more carefully retouched votive offerings may have had a higher intrinsic value, determined by the amount of raw material used and above all by the added value of the labour, thus responding not only to different religious practices, but perhaps also to variable “market” demands
and the 6th c. BCE, located on the southwest coast of Bolsena Lake (Province of Viterbo, central Italy). This work
offers the complete edition of the archaeological materials yielded during the first official excavations at the Etruscan
necropolises of Bisenzio, nowadays conserved at the National Archaeological Museums of Florence, Chiusi and
Arezzo, carried out by Giovanni Paolozzi and Enrico and Napoleone Brenciaglia in 1884-1885.
The volume is divided into two parts. The first part presents a brief topographical profile of the site of Bisenzio
(Chapter I) and a historical overview of the excavations in the institutional and scientific framework of post-unification
Italy (Chapter II). The gathering of documentary material, identified in various national archives and
published here in full (chapter III), has made it possible to reconstruct some details of exemplifying episodes of
the conflictual relationship, which was escalating, especially in the last twenty years of the 19th century in Italy,
between the old world of antiquarian collecting and the new state apparatus responsible for the protection of
antiquities. The second part presents the complete edition of the archaeological materials that could be traced
back to the excavations of 1884-1885: starting from the finds preserved in the National Archaeological Museum
of Florence (Chapter IV.2); which represent the main acquisitions where the public administration managed to
‘save’ the tomb contexts preserving the original associations, to the materials preserved in the National Etruscan
Museum of Chiusi (Chapter IV.3) and in the National Archaeological Museum G.C. Mecenate of Arezzo (Chapter
IV.4); unfortunately, the acquisitions are primarily out of context, which is representative of donations that the
private owners granted in favour of public museums; lastly a brief overview of the foreign exports which represent
the outcome of the commercial activities of the private individuals (Chapter IV.5). The conclusions (Chapter V)
attempt to provide a balance with an overall reading of the material analysed in the framework of the Visentine
material culture between the 9th and 6th c. BCE.
Etruschi LXXIX, 2016 (2017), pp. 7-25, in cui analizzo una piastra di bronzo conservata nella
Collezione Paolozzi del Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Chiusi, interpretabile come raccordo di scudo
bilobato1. Qui presento la replica citata alla nota 1, realizzata da Giordano Masci (Museo Civico
Archeologico delle Acque di Chianciano Terme) sotto la mia supervisione.