Making or Moving? Rethinking the Role of Marzuolo (Grosseto, IT) in Terra Sigillata Production and Distribution

Podere Marzuolo, a minor rural Roman settlement in northern Etruria, has yielded two distinct assemblages of terra sigillata italica (TSI), each corresponding to different chronological phases. To investigate the potential for local production of early and late TSI at Marzuolo, an integrated analytical programme was conducted on 68 TSI samples, based on elemental analysis with wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and complemented with thin section petrography. Results suggest probable local manufacture in the early phase, potentially with relatively low standardization, alongside evidence for imported ware. The later TSI, instead, exhibits a narrow compositional profile, fits within the general pattern reported for sigillata production elsewhere in northern Etruria, and was likely not locally produced. These findings suggest that the site changed from an initial phase of engaging with the local landscape to produce TSI, to becoming embedded in, and supplied by, regional networks of exchange.