IL PAESAGGIO RELIGIOSO DI VEIO TRA ETRUSCHI E ROMANI: IL CONTRIBUTO DELL’EPIGRAFIA

Abstract

This paper surveys the Etruscan and Latin inscriptions found in sacred contexts of Veii from the Archaic to
Republican periods in order to verify the existence of patterns of continuity and/or discontinuity throughout
the centuries, with special regard to the Roman conquest time (traditionally 396 BC). New evidence is
gathered from unpublished inscribed fragments from the Portonaccio sanctuary referring to Latin-speaking
devotees and from a thorough examination of the tufa altars found at the Macchiagrande north-east sacred
area. In particular, the “altar of Minerva” surprisingly has all its four sides inscribed: three in Latin and one
in Etruscan, thus providing evidence for the period of change in languages during the third century BC.