# Following the Thread: Elite Iconography on Weaving Objects at Poggio Civitate (Murlo)
## 3 The Stamped Rocchetti of Poggio Civitate  
Weaving tools, including spindle whorls, rocchetti, and loom weights, were created and used within spaces, such as OC2/Workshop and likely some portion of the Archaic Complex, which possessed monumental decorations that moreover were likely created by the same non-elite artisans creating these decorative roofing elements. Rocchetti are cylindrical objects with flaring, bulbous ends, most often made from ceramic, and associated with the production of fibers and textiles. [9] The exact function of rocchetti within the process of textile production in Eturia is not certain. It has been suggested that rocchetti held fibers or yarns during the weaving process or were used as a method of storing and transporting yarn, acting as simple spools. [10]  
Excavations at Poggio Civitate have revealed numerous examples of rocchetti, totaling 875 identifiable fragments from across the site. Intact examples, numbering fewer than 200, suggest that the majority of the rocchetti at Poggio Civitate weighed less than 50 g. This weight is consistent with their use in tablet weaving, a method that utilizes square tablets which can be rotated to create different sheds (Figure 3). [11] Tablet weaving allowed for the creation of elaborate patterns in narrow bands or as decorative borders. [12] Rocchetti likely functioned as the weights securing the fibers attached to the tablets. [13] The relatively  
Figure 2: Site plan of the Archaic Complex architectural remains, dating to 600–535 BCE (Image: Poggio Civitate Project). consistent weight of rocchetti at Poggio Civitate not only confirms their use in tablet weaving, but also suggests that textile production was conducted in an organized and centralized manner which enforced consistency. The output from Poggio Civitate's large-scale textile and thread production activities most likely served not only the hilltop dwellers, but also rural communities surrounding the site. [14] This model for a local, even inward-facing textile economy, is consistent with other modes of production at Poggio Civitate. [15]  
Decoration on rocchetti is frequent and appears on the bulbous ends of the object, as the shaft would be covered while in use. [16] The decoration was created utilizing simple shapes, incised or impressed. [17] Rolled stamps or the impression of cords used to create geometric patterns become popular as early as the Villanovan period and are present in the archaeological record of Poggio Civitate. [18] Stamps similar to those used on Etruscan ceramics are also common throughout Etruria and became popular concurrently with stamped ceramics during the second half of the seventh century BCE. [19] The most frequent decoration found on Etruscan rocchetti and ceramic wares is concentric circles, a geometric pattern that is popular throughout Etruria. The long history of concentric circles on ceramics in Etruria suggests that this geometric design is born out of an existing local Italic decorative tradition. [20] Concentric circles are also the most frequently preserved stamp present on the rocchetti from Poggio Civitate, representing 46% of the 194 rocchetti preserving identifiable stamped decoration. Other rocchetti preserve stamps with one central image displaying a single figure set in a square or circular impression. [21] While stamps preserving vegetal or geometric designs, as well as fantastic animals, are a widespread phenomenon in Etruria, the following discussion reviews the corpus of stamped decoration preserved at Poggio Civitate. [22]  
The most popular stamp, comprising 28% of the preserved stamps, is an image of a quadruped standing or striding. The animals displayed on these stamps are challenging to identify due to their stylized nature, the small size of the impressions, and the often uneven application of the stamp on the surface of the clay, however, in some cases it is possible to identify both real and mythological animals among the animal stamps. The real animals depicted in stamped decorations are horses and deer.