Tra forma e funzione: le “liaisons dangereuses” di una base fittile decorata con delfini proveniente dall’area del Manganello a Cerveteri

Abstract

The paper analyses a fragmentary impasto base painted on two sides with three polychrome dolphins that was found in a small pit located inside an artisanal district, located a short distance from the sanctuary of Manganello in Cerveteri. On the basis of its unusual shape and the presence of a circular upper opening, it is hypothesized that it was part of the sacred furnishings of the adjacent temple, used as a covering for a bothros, or as a bothros-altar itself, in close relation with the catachthonian aspects of the cult.