Local family involvement in the Roman fictile industry of Central Etruria

The concentration around Volsinii of several prominent Roman gentes involved from an early date in fictile industry suggests that this region was one of the centers of the trade. Central Etruria's ample, good quality clay and accessible commercial routes made it a logical location of figlinae owned by wealthy Romans, many of local origin. The products were exported to Rome and elsewhere, no doubt mainly by inland and coastal waterways. Examination of the fictile stamps found largely in central Etruria indicates that many of the businesses were probably local, owned by families established in the area. A good example is provided by the gens Gavia. Their concentration in central Etruria is evident from literary and epigraphical sources. Tiles of a Gavius from Cosa, used in the Augustan restoration of the colony, document the family's earliest involvement in the clay industry. Cicero's P. Gavius, municeps Cosanus, emended from Consanus in the MSS. (Verr. V158-70), may be related. The participation of the Gavii in the trade reaches its peak in the mid-second century A.C., with the slaves and freedmen of M. Gavius Maximus, praefectus praetorio, whose names appear on vessels and tiles found mainly around Bolsena. Many of them were employed in the brickyards owned by M. Petronius Mamertinus, Maximus' colleague in office, which suggests a joint venture between them. The figlinae of the Petronii, themselves of local origin, were probably soon after absorbed into Imperial holdings. Other gentes from central Etruria are linked both to the clay industry and, by family ties, to one another. These include the Larcii and the Rufii. The evidence of stamped clay objects from central Etruria indicates therefore not only the figlinae's owners, but also the probable area of manufacture. Furthermore, epigraphical and literary evidence suggests the family ties that developed among these local gentes.