Gravisca

Shown within Lazio

RegionLazioTypePort, SettlementHistoryPeriodsOrientalizing period - Roman empireCulturesEtruscanSite notesExcavation datesyesArchaeologistsMario TorelliConditionruinedPublic accessno

Gravisca (Cravsca in Etruscan and Graviscae Latin^[1]) was the port of the Etruscan city of Tarquinii, situated 8 km west of the city center.^[2]^[3]

The Etruscan settlement, occupied ca. sixth to third centuries BC, had four principal occupational phases from ca. 600 to 250 B.C.^[4] It was superseded by the establishment of a colonia of Roman citizenship at the site in 181 BC.^[5] The port functioned as an emporion and there is ample evidence for merchants and perhaps Greek artisans based at the site.^[6] The cults of numerous Greek gods, including Aphrodite, Hera,^[7] Demeter, and Apollo, are attested.

The port is mentioned by name in book 10, line 23 of the Aeneid.^[8]

References

^ Mario Torelli et al., “Gravisca,” NSc (1970)
^ Denise Demetriou (22 November 2012). Negotiating Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean: The Archaic and Classical Greek Multiethnic Emporia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 83–. ISBN 978-1-107-01944-7.
^ Harris, W. "Places: 413157 (Graviscae)". Pleiades. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
^ "Casa editrice Edipuglia". Archived from the original on 2008-02-24. Retrieved 2008-05-21. Gravisca. Scavi nel santuario greco
^ Liv. 40.29.1.1 http://latin.packhum.org/loc/914/1/1526/45-53
^ Benvenuto Frau (1981). Graviscae: il porto antico di Tarquinia e le sue fortificazioni. Gruppo Archeologico Romano.
^ Mario Torelli "Il sanctuario di Hera a Gravisca” La Parola del Passato 136 (1971) 44-67.
^ The Aeneid. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 299.