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The main aim of the UUI research program is to contribute to the wide scholarship about the rise and development of urbanization in ancient southern Etruria with new material from the excavation at Vulci.
The project has a fundamentally interdisciplinary character and seeks to shed light on the dynamic relation between continuity, development, and transformation of the urban settings at Vulci over time.
Since the beginning major attention has been given to the fieldwork activity; a second major concern has been to actively involve Swedish students and provide an opportunity for education in archaeology.
The project is led by Serena Sabatini (University of Gothenburg), who is also the project's contact person. Irene Selsvold from the Norwegian Institute in Rome is participating as a project member.
For more information, visit the University of Gothenburg website.
Research partners
- Parco di Vulci
- Soprintendenza ABAP per la provincia di Viterbo e per l'Etruria meridionale
- Fondazione Vulci
- The Norwegian Institute in Rome / The University of Oslo
- The Swedish Institute in Rome
The Vulci fieldwork
The research program, which aims to shed light on the early history of the Etruscan settlement of Vulci, was established at the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Gothenburg in close collaboration with Fondazione Vulci, the Archaeological Park in Vulci, and local Italian cultural heritage authorities. DNiR has been a partner in the project since 2024.
About the area
The UUI excavation project investigates an area situated on the north-eastern edge of the urban plateau and enclosed by the Etruscan city wall. The site is strategically located between the so-called acropolis, immediately to the north-east, and the eastern sector of the Roman decumanus descending towards the East-Gate and the nearby River Fiora.The area offers a privileged view of the river valley below including the bridge (Ponte Rotto) which once allowed communication with the territory to the east of the town, and the monumental Etruscan necropolis flanking the river valley.
Preliminary analyses of the finds suggests that the excavation has uncovered a previously unknown Etruscan cultic area. The excavated compound is characterized by three stone-built round features associated with a quadrangular building with stone wall foundation and a structure cut out of the local bedrock. Evidence of sacrificial activity strongly suggests the site might have had a cultic function and was in use between approximately the 7th and the 3rd century BCE. While sherds in secondary position suggest that the area might have been in use also in earlier periods, there is little evidence of activity after the Roman conquest of Vulci.
About Vulci
Vulci (Etruscan Velc/Velc[a]l-, Latin Vulci, Ancient Greek Ólkion) was a large city of ancient Etruria in Italy. The present archaeological site lies by the river Fiora and is close to Montalto di Castro in the Province of Viterbo. Vulci is a unique, stratified urban site that includes Bronze Age, Iron Age, Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval archaeological evidence and is relatively free of modern structures. The Etruscan city occupied an area of over 100 hectares and probably had a large population, as witnessed by the thousands of monumental Etruscan tombs surrounding the site.
Vulci was one of the most prominent and wealthy Etruscan cities from the late seventh through to the early fifth century BCE, deriving its wealth from the production and exchange of valuable goods all over the Mediterranean. Its geopolitical influence declined towards the end of the fourth century BCE, partly as a consequence of the Roman expansion.
The Roman consul Tiberius Coruncanius defeated and triumphed over the inhabitants of Vulci in 280 BCE. The town became a Roman municipium in c. 90 BCE. Archaeological evidence indicates Vulci was inhabited until at least the fourth century CE.
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