ABSTRACT
The deposition of offerings at sacred sites was a key feature of religious activity in ancient Italy. A variety of ways in which architectural terracottas were disposed of in antiquity, sometimes being given special treatment, but at other times seemingly being treated as handy building material, or simply as rubbish. In the Vignale locality of Civita Castellana, traces of sacred buildings were identified in 18956, when unpublished excavations led to the discovery of many fragments of architectural and votive terracottas. The most interesting material, however, comprises a group of terracotta acroterial statues which relate to a phase of restructuring around 500 BC. In some instances, archaeological evidence for the destruction of a sanctuary can be related to historical information concerning an attack on it, or on the city with which it was associated. Destruction or damage to a temple, whether caused by deliberate violence or by accident, was polluting and required expiation.
