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……….this land was already
a resource for the humans of the Palaeolithic who
were present in the areas where millennia later
the Etruscans were to build their villages…….
in fact, man was never again to leave the promontory.
The mineral wealth of the area was the driving force
and shaper of economic and social life for the first
real settlements which go back to the Bronze Age
(12th - 10th centuries B.C.) and this continued
to be so for subsequent settlements.
The men of Baratti were fishermen capable of considerable
exploits in pursuit of a catch in the waters of
the Tyrrhenian sea. Intense agricultural activity
grew up on the surrounding land as confirmed by
the discovery of millstones. The area thus had important
resources which were essential elements in the growth
of the network of trading activities which promoted
human development and linked isolated settlements
with each other. Out of this background grew Populonia
whose name is a symbol of prosperity and fertility
- made great by the Etruscans it was their only
city by the sea. Populonia was destined to flourish
- Baratti was an essential and safe port of call
for commercial shipping using the Tyrrhenian trading
routes. Craftsmen established workshops in the area,
working tin and copper - the marked increase in
commercial activity has been confirmed by the discovery
of jewels, pottery, precious silver objects, gold
and glass paste. Populonia was a centre of industrial
and metallurgical activity. In the 6th century the
exploitation of iron came to dominate life on the
promontory; the island of Elba was rich in exploitable
iron and for the expert Etruscan seamen it was an
easy port of call. The development of Populonia
thus received a powerful boost, becoming the most
important iron working centre in the Mediterranean
during ancient times.
In the centre of Italy the ruling powers of Rome
required iron, a precious metal for making weapons
and other objects and Populonia was the centre of
production. These were the years of greatest development
and in the years between the 4th and the 3rd centuries
B.C. development was uninterrupted. Rome itself
was to be the cause of the decline of the Etruscan
civilisation, finding new supply sources within
its own ever expanding frontiers, and the economy
of the whole Italic peninsular suffered the consequences.
After its first significant crisis, Populonia never
really recovered. |
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