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| two colors of tufa for this tomb |
Last
week we invited young American archeologists Tim and Erika to describe their visit to Tarquinia, one of the area’s two UNESCO
World Heritage sites.
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| beehive shaped funerary mounds |
The other is Cerveteri, further south in the province of
Rome, which I visited this week for the first time in over
40 years, when it was a favorite
field trip for my international school students back in
the 60s and 70s . I hope some of them who read this will leave a comment, here below.
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| entrance drive to Banditaccia necropolis |
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| carved rings decorate the tomb mounds |
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| my book on the area is available at the bookshop |
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| cart ruts dating from 300 BC |
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| columns with carbon inclusions |
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| path among the tombs |
Not much
has changed at the Banditaccia
necropolis since that time, only the majestic pines which flank
the entrance drive have grown and
their roots have made the road
bumpier , but visitors are even more welcome thanks to the new snack bar and
bookshop.
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| Isabella at the snack bar |
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| taking a break at the snack bar |
When I visited
with student groups years ago a
packed lunch was imperative and we had to be sure to bring our own
flashlights in order to see anything in the dark tombs.
Another
change is that the Tomb of the Reliefs ,
the most important, is now sealed off
with a glass door, like Tarquinia’s painted tombs, for protection.
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| walking among the tomb mounds |
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| dromos entrance to tombs |
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| Tomb of the Reliefs |
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| below the tree, the Tomb of the Reliefs |
The
atmosphere felt in the necropolis is
still awe inspiring, mysterious and lush.
This “City of the Dead” is a peek into how the Etruscans lived, what they found important and how they perceived life after death.
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| closeup of the tufa stone blocks |
The tombs, excavated in tufa stone,
have rooms
and funerary beds to recreate what the Etruscan homes looked like.
Outside the
dromos entrance way there are often phallic symbols or cippi for male occupants, or house shaped
cippi for female burials.
Have you visited either Tarquinia or Cerveteri ? Which is your favorite Etruscan site?
Looks lovely. We did Tarquinia recently but Cerveteri is still on the to-do list!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing about Cerveteri that has changed is the urban sprawl on the way into the town. It has grown enormously in the past 40 years. D.H. Lawrence would not recognize it.
ReplyDelete