In Search of the Samnites: Adornment and Identity in Archaic Central Italy 750-350 B.C.

The Samnites recur throughout Greek and Roman historical sources as formidable warriors and Rome's greatest foes from the mid-fourth century B.C. This book explores the portable material culture for evidence of an emerging 'proto-Samnite' identity between 750 and 350 B.C. The relationships between material culture, ethnicity, constructions of social identity, gender and the life-course are critically examined through the personal adornments recovered from necropolis sites in the central Apennines and surrounding regions. The catalogue of fibulae, bracelets, pendants and necklaces (available online) forms the basis for analysis through distribution mapping, typological patterns, and the use of metals and exotic materials.