A Rare, Undisturbed Etruscan Tomb (ca. 200 BC)
Shocking archaeologists and historians around the world, it was in August 2007 that an undisturbed Etruscan tomb was found was completely intact, full of human remains and stunning personal possessions of about 30 people. The tomb was located in the woods near Tuscany, about 70 miles south of Florence.
The tomb consists of a 2 meter long stone chamber, buried in the ground inside the nearby woods and containing at least 30 jars of human ash – consistent with the Etruscan tradition of cremation instead of full body burials. Three of the burial urns were made of stone, two were bronze, and the last 25 were made of a reddish ceramic known as terracotta. A likely explanation for the amount of people buried here is that they were all members of the same family, and the smaller burial urns probably contain the ashes of their servants.
Archaeologists are at a loss to understand how, in the whole of 2,200 years, no one managed to find and break into this tomb and steal the artifacts. As a result, everything the people were buried with was still there: bronze coins, rings, several bronze mirrors, some small terracotta plates, and a stunning black stone amulet.
The Etruscan people existed in the area before the Roman empire began to conquer their territories and eventually eradiated them, and this tomb would have dated back to around the same time as the period when Etruscan settlements in the region were being taken over by the Romans. At this time in history, the Etruscan cities had already been demolished and claimed for Rome, which meant that only those people who dwelt in the countryside still held onto the culture’s traditional practices and rituals.
As a result, the intact tomb found here represents one of the last vestiges of the Etruscan people before they completely disappeared – something which is very valuable in helping to understand their ancient culture and lifestyle. Since this tomb was found undisturbed, it is now thought highly likely that there are more tombs buried in the woods across the Tuscan countryside… who knows what else may appear here in the future?
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