| Description: |
For researchers of the Cisalpine Celts of the Gaulish period (4th-1st centuries BC) the Italian term vasi a trottola (i.e. spinning top-shaped vases) is commonly used to refer to wheel-thrown flasks having a lenticular body and a narrow, thick-rimmed mouth. The surface of these ceramic flasks is burnished, often engobe-covered. Sometimes they are decorated with painted horizontal stripes. The vasi a trottola have nothing to do with spinning tops and childhood, which are the topic of this volume. Instead, they are thought to be associated with the consumption of wine or fermented beverages. These flasks are found in both female and male graves, where they are often associated with other types of banqueting vases ‒ paterae, goblets, and cups ‒ which are thought to be used either in funerary symposia or as offerings or a viaticum to the deceased. There are also examples, though fragmentary, in settlements. It can therefore be assumed that the consumption of wine or other fermented beverages was rather widespread, and that these flasks were used as bottles; hence, they were not seemingly restricted to burial rites. Over the period timespan they were in use, i.e. between the 3rd century BC and the Roman period, these flasks underwent significant changes in the shape of the body, their size, their overall profile and the thickness of the mouth. All of these features are considered significant in chronological terms; in general, the types having an edgy profile are considered the most recent of the series. The vasi a trottolaare frequently found in graves of the Transpadane Gaul, especially in those in the region assigned to the Insubres, to such an extent that these vases can be considered a cultural marker for this Celtic tribe. |