10 · Haruspicy · reading signs in a victim

A sky over the liver

The bronze liver of Piacenza

This liver model bears the names of gods and is related to the learning of Etruscan divination.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Historical recreation specific to The bronze liver of Piacenza, Found near Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction; not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

The small model reproduces a divided sheep's liver covered with Etruscan names. It is related to the training of haruspices, specialists who observed the organs of sacrificed animals to interpret divine signs before public decisions.

It was not a machine that automatically predicted the future. It must have functioned within a ritually learned knowledge where anomalies, orientation and tradition were combined. Rome would retain the haruspices even when Etruscan ceased to be spoken daily.

The convex surface is parcelled and labelled with divine names, while anatomical protuberances help to orient it. Comparing those sectors with a sacrificed liver would have allowed verbalising relationships between anatomy, sky and omen.

Its late date is essential: the object does not belong to the supposed Etruscan heyday, but to an Italy already dominated by Rome. The continuity of the haruspices' discipline survived the loss of political independence.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: the Italian Ministry of Culture dates the piece between the end of the second century BCE and the beginning of the first century BCE and considers it the principal direct source for Etruscan hepatoscopy. Interpretation and caution: its exact use as a manual, votive object or teaching instrument remains open. Expanded documentation: Bronze model of a sheep's liver, dated between the end of the second century BCE and the beginning of the first century BCE, with divisions and Etruscan names. Expanded interpretation and caution: Its use as a teaching model is the most widespread explanation, but no associated manual is preserved; avoid presenting it as an automatic calculator of the future.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE
Location: Found near Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna
Material: Incised bronze
Context: Ritual model related to liver divination
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Chronology: End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE
Anatomy: Model of a sheep's liver
System: Sectors inscribed with Etruscan divine names
Documentary coverage: 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

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End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE

A sky over the liver

Etruscans and Rome

The centuries II–I BCE are used in their full extent as an external ordering framework; the record specifies the end of the II and the beginning of the I.

Current record

Bronze23 dated objects

20 / 23In the centre: A sky over the liver

Also connected, without a comparable date (6)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

Daegok-ri grave goodsGojoseon and early Korea · from c. 5th century BCE
Early metallurgyAncient China · c. 1900–1500 BCE
Four offerersIberians · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue
Iron changes the frontierGojoseon and early Korea · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE
The workshop inside the ditchYayoi Japan · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi
Weapons under the LakeCeltic worlds · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Inscriptions

Naqada labels · ca. 3300–3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Narmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Ur-Nanshe relief · Mid-3rd millennium BCE · reign of Ur-Nanshe · Sumer
Stele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · Sumer
Bassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Indus seals · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Naram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · Sumer
Stele of Hammurabi · Towards 1750 BCE · Sumer
Phaistos Disc · ≈1700–1650 BCE · Greek worlds
Linear A · c. 1700–1500 BCE · Greek worlds
The voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · Phoenicians
The Cascajal Block · Proposed c. 1000–900 BCE · Maya worlds
Black Obelisk · 825 BCE · Sumer
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Phoenicians
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Iberians
Stele of Esarhaddon · 7th century BC C. · 671 campaign BCE · Sumer
Ivory with names · End of the 7th century–first half of the 6th century BCE · Phoenicians
Shabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Uni was also Astarte · Towards 510 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · Phoenicians
Ezerovo Ring · 5th century BCE · chronology discussed in the bibliography · Thracians
Twenty-six voiceless signs · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The inscription of Pistiros · 4th century BCE · Thracians
Yan knife-money in the Gojoseon sphere · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Ancient China
Lead tablet · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
A coin with the memory of a blade · 323–222 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
A sky over the liver · End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE · Etruscans and Rome — You are viewing
Hand of Irulegui · First third of the 1st century BCE · Iberians
Betatun altar · 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
The date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worlds
Kilwa coin · 1482–1493 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Cyrus speaks as king of Babylon · After the conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Oracle bones · from ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
Writing with gaps · Diverse chronologies · Garamantes

Divination

A sky over the liver · End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE · Etruscans and Rome — You are viewing

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Oracle bones · from ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China

Casting

Akkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Bassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Jue · c. sixteenth century BCE · Ancient China
Bull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worlds
Liding · 12th–11th centuries BCE · Ancient China
Talayotic sword · ≈1200–1000 BCE · destruction of the talayot towards 790 BCE · Iberians
The lute-shaped dagger · Towards 1000–400 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Scorțaru cauldron · 6th–5th centuries BCE · Thracians
A battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
The blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Geometry in very fine lines · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Eight voices in one hand · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Fibula from Lancia · ≈300–100 BCE · Iberians
Horse fibula · 2nd century BCE · disputed chronology · Iberians
A sky over the liver · End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE · Etruscans and Rome — You are viewing
Thirty-nine buried bells · Buried towards the 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Kongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Early metallurgy · c. 1900–1500 BCE · Ancient China
Four offerers · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue · Iberians
Piece-mold casting · c. 1600–1046 BCE · Ancient China

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Tinia does not occupy a single box in religious thought

The specialist Giovannangelo Camporeale emphasises the prominent position of Tinia, whose name reappears in the Piacenza model. His study compares this testimony with Roman authors who distinguished several types of lightning and different divine consultations before launching them. The comparison reveals a more articulated system than a list of gods equivalent to the Greeks. Even when Tinia may approach Zeus or Jupiter in certain traits, it is not advisable to substitute one name for another and erase its particularities. Inscriptions and texts transmitted in different periods must be read without confusing them.

Research · G. Camporeale · Tinia, Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica, Treccani, 1966Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Where it is held

Musei Civici di Palazzo Farnese · Piacenza

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The Italian Ministry of Culture identifies the Etruscan liver within the archaeological section; it avoids claiming an uninterrupted exhibition.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

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A sky over the liver

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

A sky over the liver

Jue

Bull-leaping

Fu Hao’s burial goods

Liding

Talayotic sword

Tribute to Assyria

Before Etruscans and Rome

The lute-shaped dagger

Kushite king

The great Greek krater of Vix

Scorțaru cauldron

Vix Tomb

Yan knife-money in the Gojoseon sphere

A coin with the memory of a blade

The blade became straight

Geometry in very fine lines

Eight voices in one hand

The Shield that Did Not Fight

Fibula from Lancia

A sky over the liver

Hand of Irulegui

Thirty-nine buried bells

Torreáguila fountain spout

A closer look

Tinia does not occupy a single box in religious thought

Where it is held

Musei Civici di Palazzo Farnese · Piacenza

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?