Chariots and Other Wheeled Vehicles in Italy before the Roman Empire presents evidence
for transport by wheeled vehicle in Italy before the Roman Imperial period, the
beginning of which is often thought to be marked by Augustuss conquest of
Egypt in 30 BC. The study begins with
a glossary of technical terms and with evidence for roads and the animals that
were used in draught. The major part is concerned with the vehicles themselves -
two-wheeled chariots and carts and four-wheeled wagons - their construction, the
ways in which their draught animals were harnessed and controlled, and the uses
to which the equipages were put. A wide range of evidence is drawn upon
including figured documents such as architectural terracottas, stone reliefs,
vase- and wall paintings; bronze and terracotta models and the remains of actual
vehicles, in a few cases accompanied by their harness teams recovered from
tombs, primarily from central and northern Italy of the
Eighth and Seventh Centuries BC onwards. The concluding chapter looks at the
history of wheeled vehicles in Italy before the Roman Imperial
period. It traces local, Italic characteristics and possible foreign influences,
and assesses the relative economic and social importance of the different kinds
of wheeled vehicles and of other means of land transport - by pack and riding
animals. In appendices the vehicles depicted in so-called Situla Art and the
'Celtic chariot' are discussed. Lavishly illustrated with over 170 plates and
figures, this book is important for the history of transport, technology and
draught.
