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The Falisci were an Italic peoples who lived in what is now northern Lazio, on the Etruscan side of the Tiber River. They spoke an Italic languages language, Faliscan, closely related to Latin. Originally a sovereign state, politically and socially they supported the Etruscans, joining the Etruscan League. This conviction and affiliation led to their ultimate near destruction and total subjugation by Rome.
Only one instance of their own endonym has been found to date: an inscription from Falerii Novi from the late 2nd century AD refers to the falesce quei in Sardinia sunt, "the Faliscans who are in Sardinia", where falesce is the nominative plural case. An Etruscan inscription calls them the feluskeś. The Latin cannot be far different from the original name. The -sc- suffix is "distinctive of the Italic ethnonyms".
The arable land was contained within an enclosure of volcanic highlands and the Tiber River. The northern border of the enclosure went along the ridge of the Monti Cimini, the southern along the ridge connecting the Monti Sabatini and Monte Soratte, the western along the highlands connecting the two large volcanic lakes. The inner slopes are drained by streams pointing at the Tiber, which collect into converging canyons and finally into the canyon of the Treja river, which empties into the Tiber. These streams required an extensive network of bridges.
Most of the through traffic went along the Via Tiburtina on the west bank of the river, which could only be crossed south of Capena or at Grotta Porciosa in the north. There the Via Flaminia, earlier the Via Amerina, led inland into the country of the Sabines via the valley of the Nar River. On the western side, the Via Cassia or its predecessor led to the coast over Sutri gap. The Falisci therefore prospered by being on a protected crossroad.
The primary urban center in Faliscan territory was the city of Falerii, now the modern settlement of Civita Castellana. Falerii was situated at the conjunction of several small rivers from Monti Sabatini and the larger Treia river. Following the Roman conquest of 241 BCE, the city of Falerii was destroyed and the inhabitants were moved to the less defensible position of Falerii Novi. Another major city mentioned in ancient literature is Fescennia, which is said by Festus to be the origin site of the Roman wedding tradition known as the Fescennine verses. Other Faliscan cities unmentioned by the ancient sources include Corchiano, Vignanello, Gallese and Grotta Porciosa.
The Falisci took advantage of the First Punic War to declare their independence, but their revolt ended in 241 BC with the death of 15,000 Falisci and the destruction of Falerii; the survivors were moved to a new city, Falerii Novi.
Dionysius describes Faliscan weaponry in his works, stating that their Spear and Buckler resembled Greek equipment used in Argos. Dionysius likely intended this description to further support his proposed connection between Argos and the Falisci. He further claims that whenever the Faliscan army left their borders, they sent unarmed holy men ahead of the rest of the army carrying the terms of peace.Dionysius of Halicarnassus. . . Cato the Elder, a 3rd-century BCE Roman politician, mentions a type of cattle-stall called the praesepe Faliscum,Cato the Elder. De Agricultura. 4.1. although such a device was possibly not exclusive to the ager Faliscus.
The usage of patronymic instead of matronymic Filiation indicates that Faliscan society may have been somewhat Patriarchy. There are several examples of Faliscan praenomina which are seemingly unique to Faliscan culture or are rare outside of the ager Faliscus; the names Iuna and Volta are included within this category, they are especially unique as they are masculine names with the ending - a. Other names such as Gaius and Gaia are much more common in Faliscan inscriptions than in other cultures. Instances of double gentillicum are found in a Middle Faliscan inscription containing the name ueluisni · olna and in a Middle or Late Faliscan text containing the name m · tito · tulio · uoltilio · hescuna. In Etruscan culture, this naming convention was used to mark an individual as a freedman. One Middle Faliscan inscription from Falerii mentions a freedwoman named loụṛia who was inhumed in the same loculus as the freeborn fasies : caisia.
In Narce, a 2.8 by 1.55 Metre Faliscan sarcophagus was uncovered buried within a 1.45-meter-deep hole in 2012. The sarcophagus was contained inside a recess at the bottom of a trench filled with sand. At the long ends of the sarcophagus, a layer of compacted tufa fragments held the coffin in place. It was enclosed with a layer of irregularly placed rocks, which are then placed beneath separate layers of coal mixed with clay underneath a layer of sand and pozzolana. The final layer, covering all previous strata, consists of large tufa blocks mixed with clay. On the bottom of the sarcophagus, a drainage channel roughly shaped like the letter "Y" ending in a circular hole likely functioned to remove slurry and natural tissues Liquefaction as part of the process of decomposition. This drainage system potentially motivated the unique sloped position of the sarcophagus; the placement on a slope allowed the fluids the flow out of the tomb. Collectively, these practices served to protect the tomb from damage and to preserve the body; in particular, the drainage of fluids helped to delay the rotting of the corpse and possibly to ritualistically purify the body. The grave goods were likely stolen prior to excavation, although remnants of a cup and a bronze fusiform pendant were uncovered.
Adult Faliscans were buried with grave goods reflecting their role within society; men were often buried with spears and Sword on the left side of their corpse while women were often buried with tools for spinning or weaving such as Spindle whorl, wooden spindles, a weaving comb pendant, and Distaff. Bronze distaffs occupy the same position in the tombs of women as weaponry occupies in the graves of men. These distaffs were often ornately decorated with inlay of amber and gold. They likely did not serve a utilitarian function for spinning like regular distaffs; instead, they probably served a ceremonial purpose. Linen is mentioned as a characteristic feature of the Faliscan people by the 1st-century CE Roman writer Silius Italicus.Silius Italicus. . . Although weapons such as swords and spears are most often found in male graves, ritual Axe have been uncovered in female graves. In one burial, a 30–40-year-old woman was buried with a miniature axe covering her forehead. This grave good likely reflected the significance of women or priestesses for religious sacrifice; it possibly reflects a more specific connection between women and the division of the meat of sacrificed animals.
The graves of female Adolescence or children uniquely contain smaller, scaled down burial goods that lack any reference to work-related activities and are sometimes connected to childhood play; they also usually, although not always, lack any reference to the funerary symposium. It was common for the clothing of young girls to be covered in metal plates sometimes adorned with Swastika. Within a Faliscan tomb on the slopes of Monte Greco are the bodies of a mother and daughter, both buried in a trench tomb. Both women wore Jewellery, although mother has larger amounts of jewelry and the highest-quality jewelry. The mother was buried with amber pendants that possibly functioned to protect fertility, one of which depicts a woman with their bare hands grasping their belly and the other portrays a monkey. Another, likely fertility-related, pendant from a tomb in Pizzo Piede depicts a woman placing both her hands on her Hip, drawing attention to the pubis. This same tomb contains a two-wheeled chariot as a grave good, possibly symbolic of the wedding and funeral rituals as well as the journey into the afterlife.
Archaeological analysis of a cremated Faliscan woman from Narce, who either had recently given birth or was in the late stages of pregnancy, revealed that a necklace of Glass casting and amber Bead was placed inside the olla following the cremation. Beads placed next to objects relating to the mother are similarly found in other structures identified as the graves of infants or female children. Amber is common throughout upper-class Faliscan graves in Narce, likely reflecting a high demand for exotic products. However, amber decorations and full-sized fibulae are primarily found in the graves of women over 30. The material was used to make complex necklaces, embellish tools or the parts of clothing, and—primarily in Narce—to make figurines. Amber figurines are almost exclusively found in female graves, although male graves sometimes contain several amber beads or some amber in fibulae.
Burial goods provide evidence for Faliscan fashion styles and cosmetics. Some female—likely high-class—burials contain sculptures of women's heads, possibly wedding gifts, which depict Faliscan Hairstyle; they suggest that Faliscan women may have used a snood to cover their hair. Further evidence for this piece of headgear derives from a mid-4th-century BCE tomb in Coste di Manone, occupied by a female skeleton with the remains of hair and fabric, possibly once a component of a snood Embroidery with a purple or blue thread. Women are also found buried with Cosmetics goods such as—from the 6th-century BCE onwards—bronze Mirror. One Ceramic glaze black cup from the 3rd-century BCE, contains evidence of a red powder possibly used as lipstick or a rouge. Ancient Faliscan women may have used cylindrical cases to store cosmetic products. Evidence for this is found in a Faliscan krater made in the mid-4th-century BCE, although the usage of these objects for this purpose was likely not as common as in other regions such as Latium. The Faliscans had a tradition of decorating the Urn of women with clothing and garments. Funerary ollae belonging to women from the Tufi necropolis were richly ornamented with clothing designs, one urn was wrapped in a belt that likely symbolically represented the body of the deceased. In Narce, the necks of cinerary urns were covered in fibulae and pendants.
According to the 1st-century BCE Roman writer Ovid, Faliscan culture heavily emphasized the worship of the goddess Juno: Ovid refers to the Faliscans as " Iunonicolae" in his poem Fasti.Ovid. Fasti. 6.49. Ovid described a Faliscan temple of Juno he visited, stating that it resembled Hellenistic structures and was located in a clearing, surrounded by dark woods and reached via a steep road. Another sanctuary at Falerii likely dedicated to Juno contains votive offerings such as axes, spear heads, and a bronze statuette depicting a warrior. Dionysius believed that the Faliscan civilization originated from Argos, citing the supposed similarities between the temple of Juno in Falerii and the temple of Hera at Argos.Dionysius of Halicarnassus. . . Dionysius and Ovid both state that the cult of Juno at Falerii continued into their lifetime.Ovid. Ars Amatoria. 3.13. Archaeological evidence corroborates this narrative; ancient Roman inscriptions suggest that the cult of Quiritis was active during the reign of Trajan (). However, the religious practices of the cult under Roman occupation may not accurately reflect the traditional Faliscan practices..]]Various Roman authors mention another popular Faliscan cult called the Hirpi Sorani who were said to have conducted ceremonies at Monte Sorratte. This ritual is entirely unmentioned in the epigraphical record, save for one inscription possibly containing the word sorex ("priest") that is potentially connected to this practice. Roman authors largely connect the Hirpi Sorani to the god Apollo, an account that is supported by Faliscan inscriptions mentioning cult sites of Apollo. The Faliscans may have worshipped a deity unique to their culture called Titus Mercus, a god possibly related to Oscan Mercus or the Roman Mercury. Jupiter is possibly attested in a broken Middle Faliscan inscription reading " ...s pater." The inscription can be restored as something resembling "dies pater," an archaic name for Jupiter. Further evidence for Jupiter worship in Faliscan culture comes a statue possibly depicting Jupiter found in a temple in Civita Castellana. Minerva is attested for in the same Middle Faliscan text, which contains the word " menerua." Ovid proposes that the goddess Minerva earned the epithet Capta due to an evocatio from the Faliscans.Ovid. Fasti. 3.843-844. Italian archaeologist Mario Torelli argued that the Roman cult of Minerva Capta predated the conquest of the Faliscans and that the evocatio merely referred to the capture of the Faliscan statue of Minerva. Similarly, the Roman writers Macrobius and Servius both claim that the cult of Janus Quadrifons was brought to Rome after the conquest of the ager Faliscus.Maurus Servius Honoratus. In Vergilii Aeneidem commentarii. A.7.607.Macrobius. Saturnalia. 1.9.13.
Faliscan legends and tales are almost exclusively attested on through artwork depicting mythological scenes, often events from Etruscan mythology. However, one Middle Faliscan inscription mentions the name canumede, implying that the Faliscans shared the story of Ganymede with other cultures. Ganymede is possibly depicted in a headless statue of a naked young boy holding an oenochoe found in a Faliscan temple. If this statue does portray Ganymede, then it possibly indicates that the deity was involved in ceremonial rites of passage for young men in the city. Few Faliscan religious positions are described in the sources; one inscription mentions a haruspex, another mentions a rex possibly connected to the Rex sacrorum, and Servius claims the Fetial priesthood originated from the Faliscans. Two Faliscan festivals, the Struppearia and decimatrus are described by the 2nd-century Roman grammarian Festus. According to Dionysius, holy women had an important religious function at the temple of Juno in Falerii; he writes that an unmarried girl, called the " canephorus" or the "basket-bearer," performed the initial sacrificial rites and that an ensemble of virgins sung songs in praise of the goddess.
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