The Umbrians were an ancient Italic people who spoke an Indo-European language belonging to the Oscan-Umbrian group; they lived in an area which, in classical times, stretched from the upper and middle Tiber valley to the Adriatic Sea. They were primarily engaged in agriculture and livestock farming, but their craftsmanship was also highly developed: weapons, bracelets, rings, brooches made of bronze and iron, and pottery were among the goods they produced and sold to neighbouring peoples. This people were characterised by the Umbrian language, originally written using their own alphabet of Etruscan derivation, which was later replaced by the Latin alphabet, and by their practice of inhumation. Describing their origins, Pliny the Elder states:
(LA)
‘The Umbrian people are considered the most ancient in Italy; indeed, it is thought that the Greeks called them ‘Ombri’, because they had survived the great floods. It is recorded that the Etruscans conquered three hundred of their towns.’
(IT)
‘The Umbrian people are considered the oldest in Italy; indeed, it is believed that the Umbrians were called Ombrici by the Greeks because they are said to have survived the rains when the land was flooded. It is recorded that the Etruscans subjugated three hundred Umbrian cities.’
Under the Etruscans, they experienced an economic expansion around the 7th century BC, which led this people from a nomadic and communal way of life, centred in villages consisting of huts (pre-urban period) situated in the foothills of the Apennines and on high ground (with hilltop settlements), to an urban way of life consisting of large fortified settlements (Totae), established in fertile areas traversed by major trade routes.
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