Editing Fasces (section)

=== Origin ===
The English word ''fasces'' comes from [[Latin]], with singular {{lang|la|fascis}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=fasces |url=http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=fasces |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201552/http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=fasces |archive-date=2007-09-30 |website=Merriam-Webster Dictionary }}</ref> The word is usually used in its plural to refer to magisterial insignia, but is sometimes used to refer to [[bushel]]s or bundles in an agricultural context. This word itself comes from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]] root {{PIE|*bhasko-}}, referring to a bundle.{{sfn|Brennan|2022|pp=12–13}}

The earliest archaeological remains of a fasces are those discovered in a necropolis near the Etruscan hamlet now called [[Vetulonia]] by the archaeologist [[Isidoro Falchi]] in 1897.{{sfn|Brennan|2022|p=8}} The discovery is now dated to the relatively narrow range of 630–625&nbsp;BC, which coincides with the traditional dating of Rome's legendary fifth king [[Lucius Tarquinius Priscus]].{{sfn|Brennan|2022|p=10}} An [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] origin, furthermore, is supported by ancient literary evidence: the poet [[Silius Italicus]], who flourished in the late 1st century AD, posited that Rome adopted many of its emblems of office – viz the fasces, the [[curule chair]], and the {{lang|la|[[toga praetexta]]}} – specifically from Vetulonia.{{sfn|Brennan|2022|pp=9–10}} A story of Etruscan origin is further supported by [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] in his [[antiquarian]] work, ''[[Roman Antiquities]]''.{{sfn|Brennan|2022|p=11}}