Trebbio Stele

Description

Trapezoidal funerary stele found walled up in the tower of the Medici villa of Trebbio in the municipality of San Piero a Sieve, donated to the Archaeological Museum Of Florence in 1889 by Johan De Witt. it is n gray sandstone and dates from the sixth century B.C. It offers a bas-relief depiction of the profile of an armed man, facing left, wearing a helmet with a pronounced cap with a crest; his neck is truncated, his pelvis and upper limbs are instead concealed by a broad circular shield; in his right hand he holds a spear held at rest; on his legs he wears schinieri with ankle tabs. Warriors are among the most frequently used representations in the iconographic variety of Fiesole stones usually provided, as in this case, with oplitic-type armor, thus emphasizing membership in a high-ranking military class. Such warriors appear, according to the findings, confined to their territorial districts. This could signify, in the mid-sixth century BCE, the presence of isolated powers and a territorial control still resolved by private-type relationships.