In 1842 the excavator, Fossati, wrote to Gennarelli a detailed description of his discovery of the Vulci hoard with its fragments of a bull-bull bar and a cock-rostra bar. This includes a description of its proximity to the bridge and the jar in which it was found. Thankfully for us Gennarelli published that letter.
Excellent photos of La Bruna (CHRR 16) bars acquired by Berlin as well as some superb etching of other aes grave can be found in Dressel 1894.
Machine translation:
“Since Your Lordship has courteously requested that I recount to you in writing the details of the discovery I made—at the site of Vulci—of a hoard of archaic bronze coinage, I hereby set forth the entire matter truthfully. I myself directed the excavations at Camposcala—an undertaking in which I was partnered with Candelori and Campanari—and I commenced operations within the necropolis of Vulci; this took place during the first month of the works, spanning from October to November 1828. To the east-southeast of the city—quite close to the Ponte alla Badia, an intact and archaic structure—I stumbled upon a find situated five palmi beneath the soil; from the excavation trench, I extracted a rough, medium-sized olla (earthen jar), standing in isolation from other objects and filled entirely with bronzes. These bronzes consisted partly of pieces weighing as much as dupondii or tripondii—shaped like rectangular prisms, some of which were fragmentary—and partly of fractional units of the as (the standard bronze weight), shaped like flattened ellipses, the majority of which were sextantes. Finally, constituting about one-sixth of the total hoard, there were cast bronze cubes—highly porous, bearing no markings or stamps, and heavily corroded by verdigris—ranging in weight across two or three modules, from the ounce up to the pound. Such was the abundance of ancient objects that I was bringing to light—especially during those initial stages—and so great was the burden of properly managing and supervising such a massive undertaking, that in the official report submitted to the Camerlengato regarding the aforementioned aes grave, I did not provide any greater level of minute detail than I was accustomed to doing when merely listing painted vases; I therefore furnished only a brief summary of the find. Once I had arranged for all the objects discovered during that first month to be transported to Rome and deposited at the Palazzo Candelori—a shipment comprising bronzes and painted Tyrrhenian vases sufficient to fill two four-horse wagon-loads—Cardinal Galeffi and his associates arranged for, and subsequently executed, the acquisition of the entire collection. …owners, for the price of 4,500 scudi.
The small yet intriguing hoard of which I speak was on public display for several weeks; its existence is attested in the archives of the Camerlengato by two inventory entries. This little treasure from Vulci clearly demonstrates that the form of the aes rude was variable and its weight indeterminate—its true value being established only upon the scales. Consequently, Forcellini’s definition proves inaccurate and requires correction: “The aes rude consisted of a copper plate weighing several pounds—oblong, unpolished, and rough—marked with as many bosses (globuli) as it weighed in pounds.” For the artifact cited by him—the Passeri monument—is not, strictly speaking, aes rude, but rather aes signatum.
However, when left to the discretion of private individuals, the aes rude inevitably gave rise to serious abuses, both regarding the accuracy of the standard and the purity of the metal. This led to the emergence of aes signatum—stamped currency—which, even more effectively than the formless ingots, came to take the place of livestock herds—that is to say, of the ancient form of pecunia (wealth). Hence, the wealthy were referred to as locupletes and pecuniosi—terms intended to denote the vastness of their landholdings and the multitude of their herds (i); indeed, in ancient times, fines were often levied in the form of such livestock. Following its sale to our government, the hoard was transferred to the Vatican Museum. It was at this time that Durcau de la Malle and I first became acquainted. He had already been engaged for some time in gathering data for a statistical survey of ancient Rome—a work that has since been published. While traveling together along the Via Aurelia and discussing the aforementioned hoard, I shared with him a conjecture of mine regarding its nature—a hypothesis I later reiterated and confirmed to him at his home in Paris. I now commit this same conjecture to the pages of this journal, confident that you, Sir, will see fit to publish it and submit it to scholarly discussion. First, I reiterate that the olla (earthen jar) contained nothing but bronze artifacts. The types—which I distinctly recall identifying as multiples of the as—consisted of a full-figure ox… …trident. Since, in our current investigation into the date of the deposit—and the nature of a portion of that deposit—we must prioritize the probable over the improbable, we are compelled to accept the hypothesis that the bronzes were placed inside the olla at a time so remote from our own that the aes [bronze currency] in that region was still cast rather than reduced in weight, angular in shape, and bearing only the simplest of designs. This era is precisely the one that immediately followed the initial phase, during which the Italic peoples utilized a similar form of currency, albeit one entirely devoid of any specific imagery or “type.” Such a rudimentary stage of artistic development is explicitly recounted by Pliny in the context of the Romans; yet, by virtue of the natural analogy governing the origins and evolution of human societies—an analogy that holds particularly true among neighboring lands sharing similar institutions—this observation may be extended, without fear of undue boldness, to the other Italic peoples as well. Furthermore, just as the subsequent transition—from the heavy, cast, and marked aes grave to the lighter, struck, and marked coinage—did not serve to exclude the preceding form (namely, the second phase) from commercial circulation, so too must we conclude—by necessary deduction—that this second category of currency did not, in turn, displace the very first category: that of a specific weight and regular shape, yet entirely devoid of any stamped imagery. Having thus discovered within the olla a collection of objects—assembled with equal care—comprising both cubical bronze ingots of various dimensions (devoid of imagery) and rectangular ingots bearing specific designs, we are led to the conclusion that this assemblage constitutes the very first tangible example of the Italic aes rude—the earliest form of currency fashioned from this metal. It appears that the cube was favored over other solid geometric forms because it was held sacred to Hermes, and because its dimensions and weight were more easily determined and standardized. As for the original placement of the olla itself, the most plausible hypothesis suggests that it served as an ancient votive deposit, entirely unrelated to any funerary context; nevertheless, one cannot entirely rule out the possibility that it was originally interred within a burial mound—for both in the vicinity of Vulci, and further afield in the Sabine territory near Sommavilla (where I myself have conducted successful excavations), it is by no means uncommon—particularly when the site in question… …slope), and the passage of time—along with the plow, which for so long has tormented the backs of these tombs—have meant that rains and winds have loosened and partially dissipated almost the entire upper structure of these hypogea; consequently, their floor level now lies merely a few spans beneath the surface of the ground. I must add, however—and I do so with candor—that throughout the many years I have spent conducting excavations and investigating Etruscan tombs, only once did I chance upon Roman aes unciale coins within an intact burial chamber: specifically, in a tomb situated to the left of—and in close proximity to—the celebrated Grotta del Cardinale (still adorned with frescoes to this day), located atop the ridge between Tarquinia and the sea. I remain deeply indebted to you, and I offer you my respectful salutations.
Milziade Fossati
Liv Mariah Yarrow 