Iron Age Hoards in Italian Peninsula and Sardinia: a review

From the Bronze Age onwards in the Italian peninsula several hoards have been identified and they consisted of various number of objects ranging from few until the 14838 artefacts of the hoard explored at San Francesco in Bologna. Generally the hoards have been interpreted in various ways: they can be deposits of scrap metals, cultic deposits or property of rich single individuals or entire communities. To understand each hoard is necessary to compare it with the general knowledge about the findplace. The new socio-economic conditions in the Early Iron Age and the birth of social elites contribute to end the deposition of metal hoards in central Italy. e meridionale agli inizi del VII sec. a.C., nelle regioni settentrionali fino alla seconda età del Ferro: i beni suntuari, pilastri dell’ideologia aristocratica, vengono accumulati nelle sepolture.