Abstract/Summary

The Samnites recur throughout Greek and Roman sources as formidable warriors and Rome’s greatest foes from the mid-fourth century B.C. This book examines the material culture for evidence of an emerging ‘proto-Samnite’ identity between 750 and 350 B.C. The relationships between material culture, ethnicity, constructions of social identity, gender and the life-course are critically examined through the personal adornments recovered from necropolis sites in the central Apennines and surrounding regions. The online catalogue of fibulae, bracelets, pendants and necklaces forms the basis for analysis through distribution mapping, typological patterns and the use of metals and exotic materials.