Etruscan 'graffione' mystery explored at Siena's European Archaeology Days

The Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Siena, housed in the Complesso museale della Basilica di Santa Maria della Scala, is celebrating the European Archaeology Days 2024 (June 14–16) by showcasing a recently restored Etruscan bronze 'graffione' from the Bonci Casuccini Collection. The graffione is a bronze tool with a long handle ending in hooks, whose original function has long been debated. Two types exist: the 'corona' type with rounded prongs arranged around a central hole, and the 'barra trasversale' type with two perpendicular hooks, to which the Siena specimen belongs. Hypotheses have included retrieving objects from wells, as a siege weapon, or as a giant cooking fork (some examples reach 40 cm in diameter). However, the current leading theory, supported by an Etruscan bronze mirror at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York depicting Alcestis and Admetus with a figure holding a flaming hooked implement, suggests the graffione served as a candle holder: a cord soaked in oil was wound around the hooks and lit. The restoration, still ongoing, has cleaned and reassembled the fragmentary object, which was heavily encrusted and missing part of a hook. This event adds a new piece to understanding mysterious Etruscan customs.