At First Glance: Remarks on a Group of Sigla from the Sanctuary of the Etruscan Artisans at Cetamura del Chianti

Nancy de Grummond has suggested that a recurrent siglum (non-verbal mark) found in the northwest area of Zone II of the artisans’ zone and the sanctuary of Building L at Cetamura del Chianti was an important indicator for the site and probably the name of a deity. In this article, I confirm the value of this typical siglum, suggest an alternative reading of it—alp instead of lap—and argue that it is a complete lexical entry. The siglum alp seems to be the contact point between artifacts bearing the noun alpan, which is used in votive dedications with the same function as cver, the personifications Alpan/ Alpanu/ Alpnu / Alpunea—which suggest a connection to prophecies related to concord, advice, and beauty in contrast to those that conveyed conflicts or disputes—and the mantic practices carried out in the sanctuary of Cetamura. Finally, the siglum alp may correspond to a crucial concept shared by the worshippers of the sanctuary.