Funde aus Milet XXII. Etruscan Bucchero from Miletus: Preliminary Report

Bucchero, the Etruscan national pottery, was appreciated also by Greeks, who adopted in their culture the form of the commonest Etruscan vase, the kantharos, as an attribute of Dionysos. This adoption led to a widespread distribution of this vase in the Greek world, which is also clearly demonstrated by the bucchero finds in the Aegean. Here Miletos is the richest bucchero findplace, since the excavations conducted by V. v. Graeve from 1985 onwards have produced more than 100 Etruscan bucchero sherds, belonging mostly to kantharoi. Mineralogical and petrographical analysis has let us identify the probable Etruscan production centres of the bucchero pots, which were dedicated in the Aphrodite sanctuary. These centres are Caere and Tarquinia, two of the most important Etruscan city-states, which had direct relationships with Miletos.