Proposte metodologiche per lo studio dei nomi di vaso nei grandi testi dell’Italia antica

Nouns for pots and vessels represent one of the best-attested areas of the lexicon of the languages of ancient Italy. For this reason, scholars have been tackling the topic for some decades; nevertheless, they have mostly focused on those nouns that are attested in short inscriptions written on pottery, rather than on the ones transmitted in the long texts of ancient Italy, such as the Iguvine Tables and the Liber Linteus. Herein three case studies (θapna, uesclo- and spanti) will be analysed and a number of methodological considerations preliminary to the study of vessel nouns in the long texts will be put forward: in particular, four methodological tools are identified (etymology, qualifiers, contents and usages of the vessels). It is observed that, despite some limits, the long texts can provide a valuable contribution to the study of this area of the lexicon and that, conversely, vessel nouns can play a role in the understanding of these texts.