Journal - Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

V.62 Bronze fragments as
reconstructed on the left rear
side panel
92
slightly dented left horn. These were made in antiquity so
that the bronze sheet could be pulled out with a small
rounded tool to restore the lost volume of the dented relief.
The notch in the area of the cut-off tail overlaps the lion’s
tail on the frieze (cat. 12) and obliterates its tip.
15. Fragments of two rear side panels (Figure V.62)
Bronze and ivory (lost)
reconstructed panels: H. 4 7⁄8 in. (12.5 cm), l. 5 ¾ in.
(14.7 cm) ± 3⁄8 in. (1 cm), thickness of wood 3⁄8 in. (.9 cm);
edging of longer side: l. as preserved 5 5⁄8 in. (14.4 cm),
W. 3⁄8 in. (.9 cm); edging of shorter side: l. as preserved
4 5⁄8 in. (11.6 cm), W. 3⁄8 in. (.9 cm); fragment of sheet
(recomposed): 4 5⁄8 x 2 1⁄8 in. (11.7 x 5.5 cm)
These two panels were not included in the reconstruction of
the chariot in 1903. Their original position had not been
understood, and some of their bronze remains were used to
repair losses in other sections of the chariot. of the flat sheet
bronze that originally made up the rear side panels only two
pieces were identified with relative certainty after the chariot
was disassembled in 2002. despite the evident differences,
two segments from their edgings had been mounted
onto the side panels (cats. 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b; see Section i.G).
The certainty that these segments of edgings belong to the
chariot is supported by a third matching segment in italy
that was recovered after the tomb was reopened in 1907
(Figure i.16). as no available evidence indicates how the
few surviving fragments should be allocated between the
two rear side panels, in the recent reconstruction it was
decided to attach all of them to the proper left panel.
Description. This is a flat sheet without tracing. Three small
nail holes (one of which was reused in 1903) can be seen at
regular intervals along the ancient edge; farther from the
edge are two pairs of larger holes ( 1⁄8 in. [.35 cm]), one of
which was reused in 1903. The other holes, which are scattered
over the sheet, are all modern (1903 restoration). The
original sheet joined one of the two panels (cat. 3a or 4a) on
one side and lined up with a frieze (cat. 11 or 12) at the base
(nothing is known about its profile). The two free sides were
finished with edging worked in two parts, joined at the
angle where they met, and nailed to the wooden support at
regular intervals.
Condition. one of the segments of the edging, which preserves
a finished end, is almost intact, while both ends of
the other are incomplete. The sheet-metal fragment has been
recomposed from two pieces that were cut in 1903 and
placed at two different points under the revetment of the
right side of the chariot. The sheet is uniformly covered with
brown and black corrosion layers and also with patchy
areas of massive green corrosion. Some areas of metallic
surface also remain. a solder line is visible along the original
edge.
Technical observations. The solder is certainly ancient,
because the function the fragment served in 1903 did not
require soldering. i believe that the two pairs of 1⁄8 in.
(.35 cm) holes served to secure some other decoration of a
different material. For example, similar holes are found in
etruscan ivory inlays that were meant to be attached to a
support by pins, also made of ivory. 7
16. Draft pole (Figures V.63, V.64)
l. without head of bird of prey at front end 81¾ in.
(207.5 cm), circumference of bronze sheet 10¼ – 7 7⁄8 in.
(26 – 20 cm); diam. of wooden reconstruction 3 1⁄2 – 2¾ in.
(9 – 7 cm)
Description. Two sheets of different lengths (61 5⁄8 in. and
20 1⁄8 in. [156.5 cm and 51 cm]) sheathed the lost wooden
pole and were attached to it by a row of nails running along
the edges on the underside. These edges do not fit together,
nor do they overlap, as had been thought in the reconstruction
of 1903. That the space, approximately ¾ in. (2 cm)
wide, left between the edges was filled with an ivory strip is
confirmed by eyewitnesses, who saw the remains of the
chariot at the time of the excavation. The shape of the
pole — bent at an angle in the forward third — called for two
pieces of metal. The section of the pole is not exactly circular,
but slightly horizontally oval, and the diameter diminishes
from the boar protome to the finial. The wide end of
the bronze sheathing begins just below the floor frame at
the front of the chariot. The top part of the sheathing at the
wide end is cut to accommodate the various lashings covered
by the boar protome. The cut even includes rectangular
openings for the tusks. The numerous nail holes running
along the edges of the cut, originally used to attach the protome
placed on top, were reused in the 1903 restoration.