Only a three and a half hour drive today and we planned an interesting diversion on the way. To indulge our interest in archaeology, we stopped at the Etruscan necropolis of Tarquinia.
I had first stumbled across the Etruscans when we toured Tuscany many years ago and they fascinated me. They were a civilisation that lived for a thousand years from the 11th century BC in an area equating roughly from Tuscany and Umbria down to the northern shores of the Tiber near Rome. Much mystery and debate surrounds their origin but the latest thinking is that they were created from an amalgamation of Greeks and the local indigenous population. They were certainly very influenced by the Greeks and used a Greek script but wrote it from right to left. Unfortunately they didn't do much writing and left no historical record of their origins. What they did leave us was a wonderfully rich collection of artefacts, sites and tombs. It was the tombs, complete with paintings and rich grave goods that we had come to see today.
The necropolis stretches for 3 km on a ridge opposite the hill where the Etruscan city was sited and between it and the sea. There are excellent views to the see and inland from the site and it is easy to see why they chose this position. So far they have discovered almost 6,000 since the 15th century (and over 40,000 in the wider area around Tarquinia) and more than 60 are painted. In order to protect the tombs, only 15 are open to the public and these are all within a small area. The tombs are rock cut and covered with a stone capping and a tumulus. The tumuli have been removed at Tarquinia, small buildings erected over the tomb entrances and glass panels erected at the burial chamber entrances in order to protect them. Apart from a few school parties, it was quite quiet when we were there and we simply arranged our route to avoid the school children. We paid for audio guides that we could listen to whilst viewing the tombs and, given there was only room for two people to stand in front of the glass panels, we were glad that it was quiet! The tombs were very impressive and I could have included many photographs but I have restricted myself to two (described below).
We grabbed a quick bite of lunch in Henrietta and then walked the 2 km into the medieval town of Tarquinia to the museum. This was full of Etruscan finds from Tarquinia and the surrounding area – beautifully carved stone and terracotta tombs, funerary urns (from the earlier years) and grave objects. The Etruscans believed that the dead 'lived' where they were buried and therefore they painted friends, family, musicians, feasts, sports and entertainment on the tombs so that they would be with them in the afterlife. Likewise the valuable grave objects were left for their use. Many of the graves have been plundered over the years and the valuable grave objects stolen, even parts of the wall paintings were removed but still sufficient have been saved to show the quality of craftsmanship especially in pottery, painting and bronze work. One surprising exhibit in the museum was parts of an umbrella, complete with copies of paintings showing the use of umbrellas by the Etrucans.
After a most enjoyable visit, we drove on to Castel Fusano and the campsite.
Photos: The Taquinia necropolis – you have to imagine 3 km of ground covered with the mounds of tumuli; Tomb 5356 (dated to the 3rd century BC) showing a funerary procession Caronte, the keeper of the underworld is shown seated on the left with two dead members of the family (already in Hades) greeting the deceased. He is precede by a child and is being lead by Vanth the female Etruscan demon of death who is carrying a torch to light the way. Note that they even had mini-skirts in Estrucan days although it only seemed to be men and female demons that wore them!; The Tomb of the Leopards (approx. 470 BC). The scene, typical of this period, shows the funerary banquet with the guests reclining, attended by naked servants with over servants carrying drinking vessels (on the left) and entertained by musicians and dancers (on the right). The tomb is named after the leopards depicted above the banquet scene. The paintings have recently been restored but only by cleaning and fixing the plaster to the wall. No extra paint was added, so these colours have survived for nearly two and a half thousand years!; Engraved bronze mirror from 4th century BC.
I had first stumbled across the Etruscans when we toured Tuscany many years ago and they fascinated me. They were a civilisation that lived for a thousand years from the 11th century BC in an area equating roughly from Tuscany and Umbria down to the northern shores of the Tiber near Rome. Much mystery and debate surrounds their origin but the latest thinking is that they were created from an amalgamation of Greeks and the local indigenous population. They were certainly very influenced by the Greeks and used a Greek script but wrote it from right to left. Unfortunately they didn't do much writing and left no historical record of their origins. What they did leave us was a wonderfully rich collection of artefacts, sites and tombs. It was the tombs, complete with paintings and rich grave goods that we had come to see today.
The necropolis stretches for 3 km on a ridge opposite the hill where the Etruscan city was sited and between it and the sea. There are excellent views to the see and inland from the site and it is easy to see why they chose this position. So far they have discovered almost 6,000 since the 15th century (and over 40,000 in the wider area around Tarquinia) and more than 60 are painted. In order to protect the tombs, only 15 are open to the public and these are all within a small area. The tombs are rock cut and covered with a stone capping and a tumulus. The tumuli have been removed at Tarquinia, small buildings erected over the tomb entrances and glass panels erected at the burial chamber entrances in order to protect them. Apart from a few school parties, it was quite quiet when we were there and we simply arranged our route to avoid the school children. We paid for audio guides that we could listen to whilst viewing the tombs and, given there was only room for two people to stand in front of the glass panels, we were glad that it was quiet! The tombs were very impressive and I could have included many photographs but I have restricted myself to two (described below).
We grabbed a quick bite of lunch in Henrietta and then walked the 2 km into the medieval town of Tarquinia to the museum. This was full of Etruscan finds from Tarquinia and the surrounding area – beautifully carved stone and terracotta tombs, funerary urns (from the earlier years) and grave objects. The Etruscans believed that the dead 'lived' where they were buried and therefore they painted friends, family, musicians, feasts, sports and entertainment on the tombs so that they would be with them in the afterlife. Likewise the valuable grave objects were left for their use. Many of the graves have been plundered over the years and the valuable grave objects stolen, even parts of the wall paintings were removed but still sufficient have been saved to show the quality of craftsmanship especially in pottery, painting and bronze work. One surprising exhibit in the museum was parts of an umbrella, complete with copies of paintings showing the use of umbrellas by the Etrucans.
After a most enjoyable visit, we drove on to Castel Fusano and the campsite.
Photos: The Taquinia necropolis – you have to imagine 3 km of ground covered with the mounds of tumuli; Tomb 5356 (dated to the 3rd century BC) showing a funerary procession Caronte, the keeper of the underworld is shown seated on the left with two dead members of the family (already in Hades) greeting the deceased. He is precede by a child and is being lead by Vanth the female Etruscan demon of death who is carrying a torch to light the way. Note that they even had mini-skirts in Estrucan days although it only seemed to be men and female demons that wore them!; The Tomb of the Leopards (approx. 470 BC). The scene, typical of this period, shows the funerary banquet with the guests reclining, attended by naked servants with over servants carrying drinking vessels (on the left) and entertained by musicians and dancers (on the right). The tomb is named after the leopards depicted above the banquet scene. The paintings have recently been restored but only by cleaning and fixing the plaster to the wall. No extra paint was added, so these colours have survived for nearly two and a half thousand years!; Engraved bronze mirror from 4th century BC.
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