Vasi e instrumentum di bronzo etruschi dai corredi funerari di Numana

Numana undoubtedly played a leading role among the main Picene sites where pre-roman bronze vessels and utensils have been discovered. In this sense, the numerous burials of the local necropolises are a privileged documentary source, which allows us to contextualize the variety of shapes and types and to interpret their associations with other materials within the individual funeray assemblages in the light of the funerary ritual. However, the knowledge of Numanate bronze vessels is still very limited, for reasons essentially due to the few published data and the lack of an extensive study of the necropolises, as well as to the conservation conditions of the fi nds, which have not always been properly restored. In this contribution we aim to propose an overview of the currently known Etruscan bronze items from Numana, examining a consistent nucleus of burials and adequately taking into account both the limits of the investigated sample and the chronological extension of the evidence. For these reasons, the introductory part of the contribution is dedicated to an updated survey of the main funerary areas.