Font Size:
Scaling Etruscan expansion
Last modified: 2011-12-18
Abstract
The paper will analyse three scales of Etruscan political dynamics with the aid of a diverse range
of computerised techniques, homing in on the northern frontier of Perugia. The analysis will start
at the macro scale, employing the XTENT technique (Redhouse and Stoddart 2011) to show the mathematically
derived territorial boundaries of the Etruscans. The analysis will then focus on the frontier of
Perugia and her northern Umbrian neighbour Gubbio, employing viewshed analysis to provide a measure
of the sensual extent of political power. Finally the GIS analysis will target one site, Col
di Marzo (Perugia), which, at a precise historical moment in the fifth century BC, was planted at the
limit of that political power - for this work, geophysical analysis will be presented, tested by
excavation.
of computerised techniques, homing in on the northern frontier of Perugia. The analysis will start
at the macro scale, employing the XTENT technique (Redhouse and Stoddart 2011) to show the mathematically
derived territorial boundaries of the Etruscans. The analysis will then focus on the frontier of
Perugia and her northern Umbrian neighbour Gubbio, employing viewshed analysis to provide a measure
of the sensual extent of political power. Finally the GIS analysis will target one site, Col
di Marzo (Perugia), which, at a precise historical moment in the fifth century BC, was planted at the
limit of that political power - for this work, geophysical analysis will be presented, tested by
excavation.
Keywords
GIS; geophysics; Italy; Etruscan