A propósito de un infundibulum etrusco hallado en aguas de la Bahía de Xàbia (Alacant)

Abstract

An Etruscan infundibulum with a handle in the shape of a lyre was found in the bay of Xàbia (Alicante). Infundibula served as funnels or sieves in
decanting beverages. The comparison with similar objects from Etruria suggests a date in the sixth century B.C. The commerce in the Hispanic Levante was dominated at this time by the Phoenicians. Vine was either cultivated locally – for example at the neighbouring site Alt de Benimaquia – or came from the southern part of the peninsula. As drinking vessels either local or Phoenician cups were used. At Xàbia the infundibulum cannot have been used in Etruscan or Greek drinking rites therefore. The object was possibly valued for its uncommon shape and put to a different use, possibly as part of a dowry. The infundibulum may be viewed in the context of the emergence of the local identity of the Iberian Elite.