2026–2027
In January 2026, the archaeological research project led by Dr Joachim Weidig (Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg), entitled “Kinship and Power in the Apennines: Foreign and Local Population Groups in Iron Age Spoleto”, was launched with funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG no. 568702652).
The project builds directly on the results of the PRIN project and aims to subject the entire necropolis to a comprehensive scientific analysis, with the goal of publishing the findings in collaboration with Italian partners. Unlike the PRIN project, which focused primarily on the role of women and children in the earliest phase of the Spoleto necropolis (Di Marco area), the new project concentrates on male burials lacking skeletal remains and on the family group associated with the later phase of the burial ground (Ater area). It also addresses specific issues that were not examined or played only a marginal role in the PRIN project.
Key research questions include: Is there a correlation between funerary rites, grave goods, and kinship relationships? Do differences among burials reflect the presence of distinct population groups or rather processes of selective cultural adaptation? Did political power remain within the same family over several generations, and do the burials of children (the so-called “little princes”) testify to an attempt to establish a dynasty in Spoleto in which political and religious offices were transmitted by birth? Closely connected to these questions is the definition of local Iron Age material culture in Umbria, which must also be framed in relation to neighbouring regions.
The German research project thus represents both a continuation and an integration of the Italian PRIN project and will further strengthen Italian–German scholarly collaboration.