Warrior of Capestrano

The Warrior of Capestrano is a tall limestone statue of a Picene warrior, dated to around the 6th century BC. The statue stands at around 2.09 m. It was discovered accidentally in 1934 by a laborer ploughing the field in the Italian town of Capestrano, along with a female statue in civilian attire, called Lady of Capestrano.[1]

The Warrior of Capestrano

Description

The Capestrano Warrior is a piece of Italic art dating back to the 6th Century BC. At first, archaeologists and historians thought these statues depicted members of a powerful Italic family. It is made of limestone, and it stands on a base made of lithic. Two pillars were used to laterally frame the statue. It depicts a man wearing a brassard and carrying weapons and armor. He is wearing a wide-brimmed parade helmet with a crest of feathers. Between the kardiophylax lied a long sword and a knife.[1] It also wears a mitra, which was a short apron covering the back. It had a black plate with a broad hinged band. Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic friezes decorated the handle of the sword.[2] This statue has other weapons such as spears, javelins with throwing loops, and axes. Most of the clothing and equipment the statue is Etruscan and Italic clothing. However, the statue is wearing a hat with a huge brim and sandals with blades instead of soles. It is possible that these added garments were designed to make the statue seem larger, and more powerful.[3] An epigraph names the statue. It is called Nevio Pomp(uled)io. This epigraphy possibly identifies him as an Italic king. Another possibility is that this statue, and the individual it depicts was subject to a damnatio memoriae. Another inscription incised on the pillar standing to the right of the warrior reads in South Picene: "Makupri koram opsút aninis rakinevíi pomp[úne]í" ("Aninis had this statue made most excellently for Rakinewis, the Pomp[onian]"). This statue has traces of pink paint.[4][5]

Archaeology

It was discovered in 1934. This discovery led to a series of archaeological excavations in the area, resulting in other statues like The Lady of Capestrano, two lithic bases, and 33 tombs being found.[6][7] The statue was found in the territory of the Vestini, but depicts a man with a Picentine helmet.[8][9] Investigation subsequent to the statue's discovery revealed that the vineyard where the statue was found was situated above an Iron Age cemetery.

References
  1. Joe Basile (1993). "The Capestrano Warrior and Related Monuments of the Seventh to Fifth Centuries B.C." Revue des archéologues et historiens d’art de Louvain. Academia.edu. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  2. Fields, Nic (2011-07-20). Early Roman Warrior 753–321 BC. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-500-7.
  3. Bonfante, Larissa (2003-10-31). Etruscan Dress. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-7413-0.
  4. Hendriks, Joep (2009-04-01). TRAC 2008: Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference, Amsterdam 2008. Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-78297-325-6.
  5. Deutscher, Lisa; Kaiser, Mirjam; Wetzler, Sixt (2019). The Sword: Form and Thought. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-1-78327-427-7.
  6. "Il Guerriero di Capestrano". Polo Museale dell’Abruzzo (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  7. Joe Basile (1993) . "The Capestrano Warrior and Related Monuments of the Seventh to Fifth Centuries B.C." Revue des archéologues et historiens d’art de Louvain.
  8. Cowan, Ross (2009-07-16). Roman Conquests: Italy. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84468-276-8.
  9. Connolly, Peter (2012-06-19). Greece and Rome at War. Grub Street Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78346-971-0.

See also
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