‘URBS’, ‘OPPIDUM’, ‘CASTELLUM’, ‘VICUS’ : SETTLEMENT DIFFERENTIATION AND LANDSCAPE NOMENCLATURE IN ETRURIA Hilary Becker A survey of the sites within Etruscan territories reveals a range of settlement types ranging from large, urban centers to small, fortified towns to undefended villages. And while the role of each becomes increasingly better understood, confusion persists among researchers as to what to call these sites. To that end, it is worthy to consider what these different categories of settlements would have been called in antiquity. While we may never know precisely what Etruscan terms such as spura (or city) and zuta (or set- tlement) signified, we can instead look to the range of terms used in Latin authors such as Livy in reference to Etruria.  This paper will explore what the different terms for settlements connoted with the aim of relating these terms to the actual physical landscape. First each term will be carefully defined, with attention given to how they are used generally by ancient historians as well as within the context of central Italy. Once these terms have been defined, the distinctions between them can be further highlighted by collecting some of the sites that are specifical- ly named and classified as one of these terms. This comparison will explore whether the physical characteristics of sites determined an ancient author’s choice of terminology. It will be shown that these different terms were used as relative signifiers of size and level of urban functions of Etruscan settlements. This correspondence between the range of words for Etruscan settlements and the characteristics of the physical settlements themselves is striking, although the connection has not been fully explored. The Latin term urbs describes a city or large town that is a political entity with its own territory. The names of Etruscan urbes are always given. Livy also mentions oppida in Etru- ria and their role there has not been sufficiently explained. The term oppidum is commonly translated as a “town”. The names of oppida in Etruria are often given in Livy – these set- tlements were significant enough, whether in terms of size or regional importance, to be specifically discussed and remembered. Both urbes and oppida serve a central-place function in their immediate area. In general, oppida are urban or proto-urban sites and are often fortified. The term oppi- dum does not necessarily denote a site situated on an elevated position. Greg Woolf, in his discussion of oppida elsewhere in the Roman empire, writes, « oppida are thus differentiated, on the one hand, from hill forts without urban functions and, on the other, from open set- tlements and farms ». 2 Oppida, like castella, vary in function, scale and population density depending on where they are located across Europe. The primary meaning of castellum is a fortified settlement or garrison. Settlements ter- med castella were located within Italy, and across the empire. Castella mentioned in ancient sources were often built on elevated summits, which would have given them natural forti- fication. Although a naturally fortified topographical position occasionally complemented  A. d’Aversa, Dizionario della lingua etrusca, Brescia 994. 2 Woolf 993, p. 224.