Latial culture
Encyclopedia
The Latial culture formerly southern Villanovan, is a variant of the archaeological Villanovan culture
. The Latial ranged approximately over ancient Latium
(from which modern Lazio descends). The iron-age Latial culture succeeded the bronze-age Apennine culture
and is considered to end after the Villanovan with the appearance in history of a state called Latium, populated by a people speaking old Latin
. The culture is likely therefore to identify a phase of the socio-political self-consciousness of the Latin people. It coincides roughly with the legendary period of the Latin kings of Alba Longa
and the foundation and monarchy
of Rome
.
The Latial is diagnosed by the hut-urn. Where Villanovan cremation urns are plain, biconical and were buried in a deep shaft, the hut-urn is a round or square model of a hut with a peaked roof and a door leading to the interior of one side. Cremation was not an exclusive rite; it shared the funerary conventions with inhumation, with decreasing frequency as the period progressed; however, the artifact assemblage with which it is associated is distinctive. The hut-urns correspond to the huts in which the population for the most part lived, although during the period they developed the use of stone for temples and other public buildings.
The Apennine culture
of Latium transitioned smoothly into the Latial with no evidence of an intrusive population movement. The population generally abandoned sites of purely economic advantage in favor of defensible sites, the locations of future cities, about which they clustered; hence the term pre-urban. This population movement may indicate an increase in marauding.
and the Monti della Tolfa
. Evidence is mainly funerary from necropoleis
(cemeteries). Cremation
was the predominant rite. Cremation burials consist of a hut-urn with ashes of the deceased placed in a dolium (large jar) with some other vessels used for food offerings. Pottery is undecorated. Instead of a hut-urn a vase with a cone-like roof or simulated helmet may be used. The dolium was placed in a stone-lined pozzo (hole) and commemorated above-ground.
For grave goods, spindle-whorls identify females and miniature armor and weapons, males. Statuettes, some with hands outstretched, may be present.
Villanovan culture
The Villanovan culture was the earliest Iron Age culture of central and northern Italy, abruptly following the Bronze Age Terramare culture and giving way in the 7th century BC to an increasingly orientalizing culture influenced by Greek traders, which was followed without a severe break by the...
. The Latial ranged approximately over ancient Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
(from which modern Lazio descends). The iron-age Latial culture succeeded the bronze-age Apennine culture
Apennine culture
The Apennine culture or Italian Bronze Age is a technology complex of central and southern Italy spanning the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age proper. It is preceded by the Neolithic and succeeded by the Iron Age Villanovan culture. Apennine culture pottery is a black, burnished ware incised and...
and is considered to end after the Villanovan with the appearance in history of a state called Latium, populated by a people speaking old Latin
Old Latin
Old Latin refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC...
. The culture is likely therefore to identify a phase of the socio-political self-consciousness of the Latin people. It coincides roughly with the legendary period of the Latin kings of Alba Longa
Latin kings of Alba Longa
The Latin kings of Alba Longa, also referred to as the Latin kings of Rome or Alban kings of Rome, are a series of legendary kings of Latium ruling mainly from Alba Longa. In the mythic tradition of the founding of Rome, they fill the 400-year gap between the settlement of Aeneas in Italy and the...
and the foundation and monarchy
Roman Kingdom
The Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories....
of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
The Latial is diagnosed by the hut-urn. Where Villanovan cremation urns are plain, biconical and were buried in a deep shaft, the hut-urn is a round or square model of a hut with a peaked roof and a door leading to the interior of one side. Cremation was not an exclusive rite; it shared the funerary conventions with inhumation, with decreasing frequency as the period progressed; however, the artifact assemblage with which it is associated is distinctive. The hut-urns correspond to the huts in which the population for the most part lived, although during the period they developed the use of stone for temples and other public buildings.
The Apennine culture
Apennine culture
The Apennine culture or Italian Bronze Age is a technology complex of central and southern Italy spanning the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age proper. It is preceded by the Neolithic and succeeded by the Iron Age Villanovan culture. Apennine culture pottery is a black, burnished ware incised and...
of Latium transitioned smoothly into the Latial with no evidence of an intrusive population movement. The population generally abandoned sites of purely economic advantage in favor of defensible sites, the locations of future cities, about which they clustered; hence the term pre-urban. This population movement may indicate an increase in marauding.
Periodization
The periodization is standard and varies little; however, a tolerance of ±25 years is implied:| Period | Date BC | Other names | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latial or LC (Latial Culture) I | 1000-900 | Proto-Villanovan, Final Bronze Age | Pre-urban |
| LCIIA | 900-830 | Early Iron Age, Villanovan | Pre-urban |
| LCIIB | 830-770 | Early Iron Age, Villanovan | Proto-urban |
| LCIII | 770-730 | Early Iron Age, Villanovan | Proto-urban |
| LCIVA | 730-630 | Early & Middle Orientalizing | Proto-urban |
| LCIVB | 630-580 | Late Orientalizing | Archaic urban |
Sites
Latial I is concentrated in the Rome region, the Alban HillsAlban Hills
The Alban Hills are the site of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio.The dominant peak is Monte Cavo. There are two small calderas which contain lakes, Lago Albano and Lake Nemi...
and the Monti della Tolfa
Monti della Tolfa
The Monti della Tolfa or "Tolfa Mountains" are a volcanic group in the Anti-Apennines of the northern part of the Lazio region of central Italy. They are bounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea coast to the west, by the Monti Sabatini to the east, and by the Monti Cimini and the Mignone river to the north...
. Evidence is mainly funerary from necropoleis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
(cemeteries). Cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
was the predominant rite. Cremation burials consist of a hut-urn with ashes of the deceased placed in a dolium (large jar) with some other vessels used for food offerings. Pottery is undecorated. Instead of a hut-urn a vase with a cone-like roof or simulated helmet may be used. The dolium was placed in a stone-lined pozzo (hole) and commemorated above-ground.
For grave goods, spindle-whorls identify females and miniature armor and weapons, males. Statuettes, some with hands outstretched, may be present.