Etruscan tombs are extremely fascinating, particularly the ones dating back to around the sixth century BC due to their architectural detail and decoration. Clearly the types of tomb employed throughout Etruscan civilisation varied somewhat and included solutions such as cremation, burial in chambers or even in deep wells.
The tombs at Tarquinia and Cerveteri are particularly interesting because they are of the chamber type: a large mound would be piled on top of a circular wall with an entrance to it. The entrance would often lead downwards into a passageway and into a number of chambers, rather like a house. The one in the image below is particularly well known for the large number of relief sculptures showing the different types of implements and tools one would have had in one’s own home at the time. This tomb is also interesting for the ceiling, which has obviously been sculpted to mimic the ceiling of housing of the time.
Category: Etruscans
he historical role of Etruria and its people, the Etruscans, was one of alphabet, manufacture, art and religion rather than of politics. Their younger neighbours, the Romans, assimilated much of the Etruscans, including their territories, but certainly not their socio-political structure.