Three South Etrurian Crises: First Results of the Tiber Valley Project

Abstract

This article is intended to provide a first report on some of the core results of the British School at Rome's Tiber Valley Project. We focus upon the results of the restudy of the South Etruria Survey material and explore how this allows us to re-evaluate earlier interpretations. To illustrate some of the results, three case-studies are presented to demonstrate how the project is allowing us to reassess the changing landscapes of the middle valley, and in particular place them in the context of the ever-shifting relationship with Rome, during periods of supposed historical 'crisis': the fifth and fourth centuries BC, the second century BC, and the late antique and early medieval periods. Each period demonstrates different degrees of continuity and change. We would therefore adopt a more neutral term, such as 'transformation', and situate each of these shifts within a longer perspective and broader interpretative framework.