Aerial view of the Etruscan necropolis. It is clearly seen that they had two types of tombs - domed (tulumos), with a false vault, assembled from slabs that shifted relative to each other so that a vault of reverse steps was obtained, and carved into the rocky ground with deepening. To prevent the vault of the domed tomb from collapsing under its own weight, it was covered with earth from above.
Quite often these tombs were built alternately and formed real "cities of the dead".
One of the "streets" in such a necropolis. Such tombs were younger in age than the domed ones.
It would be interesting to just walk among them, wouldn't it?
And, for example, I just really want to get into such a burial …
It's amazing how some people come up with this? For example, this - "swords fell into the graves because they were not needed by people, they will not put the necessary thing in the grave." And this is after ethnographers of various countries and historians have proved on … an amazing multitude of examples that people's belief in the resurrection after the grave was so strong in the past that "to the next world" they gave all the best and necessary, because … "there the deceased will need it more. " Once upon a time there was my material on VO "Etruscans against the Russians", and this is another "sore subject" on VO. Well, some would like to have … great ancestors who gave rise to the Romans themselves.
Today Etruscan antiquities (it is clear that the Etruscans themselves never called themselves that!) Adorn the most famous museums of the planet - the Louvre and the Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican. Many different Etruscan antiquities are kept in small museums in the cities of Tuscany.
Figure "Mars from Todi", 5th century BC NS. Depicts an Etruscan warrior in characteristic armor. (Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican)
Well, there is nothing in common in the culture of the Etruscans and Slavs, especially nothing in common in funeral rites. Burial rites, by the way, have become for many peoples the very main source of information by which we can generally judge them. It's the same with the Etruscans. However, the absurdity of some judgments fully expiates the ignorance of their authors (well, a solid four at school in nature, which is more!). Therefore, today we will try to tell as much as possible about the Etruscan funerary culture, because, in fact, no other culture has reached us.
The Etruscans were famous for their skill in bronze casting. For example, it cost them nothing to cast such a copper boiler. (Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican)
There are different points of view where they came from, but the main one today is that they are newcomers from Asia Minor, and first they settled in Sardinia, and only then crossed over to the Apennine Peninsula. So or not, what haplogroups they had, we will not find out now. We will try to examine precisely their burial culture, that is, to see how they buried their dead and what they put on the road. Fortunately, the Romans, although they assimilated the Etruscans and rebuilt their cities, did not touch their burials. As a result, historians got into the hands of not tens, not hundreds, but MANY THOUSANDS (!!!) of burials, in which various objects of their burial cult, art and culture in general were found.
But a cauldron is a cauldron, but this chimera from Arezzo is made with much greater skill. And nothing like this has ever, nowhere and never been found in the burials of the Slavs! Bronze sculpture of the 5th century BC NS. (Archaeological Museum, Florence)
For example, the Etruscan necropolis in Cerveteri - the burials of the Etruscans near the Italian city of Cervetere. Thousands of burials in the form of mounds or stone tombs, built in about 500 - 600 years, have been discovered here. BC The number of burials is evidenced by the fact that the area of these necropolises is more than 400 hectares. Today, only a small part of it is open to visitors, and naturally, what is open is empty. Because the finds from these tombs are in the collection of Augusto Castellani in the Villa Giulia National Museum in Rome, and also adorn the Vatican Museums and the Louvre.
Etruscan "Sarcophagus of the Spouses" from the Banditaccia necropolis in Cerveteri. Polychrome ceramics, 6th century BC NS. (Villa Giulia Museum, Rome). Height - 114 cm, length - 190 cm. In ancient times it was painted. Dated to the second half of the 6th century BC. NS.
Another sarcophagus with a sculpture of the deceased on the lid. (Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican)
The postures of the deceased could differ …
And quite a lot … (Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican)
Sarcophagus 200-150 BC. (Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican)
What is included in the archaeological zone of Cerveteri, that is, what can you visit there today? These are the following objects: the "ancient city", the Banditaccia necropolis (so named because bandits lived in empty tombs in the recent past, which the great Dumas also wrote about), the Monte Abatone necropolis and the Sorbo necropolis.
War finds in tombs at Cerveteri. That is, it was not a pity for the dead. (Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican)
Excavations of the Banditaccia necropolis have been going on since 1911, as a result of which tombs were excavated here, which even received their own names. These are: "Tomb of Kasetta", "Tomb of Olives", "Tomb of Pilasters", "Tomb of the Sarcophagi", "Triclinius Tomb", "Mound with the Tomb of Ships", "Mound with the Tomb of Colored Animals", "Tomb of the Capitals". Where do such whimsical names come from? So after all, the writing of the Etruscans has not yet been deciphered, since although there are many inscriptions in their language, they are all short and devoted to the theme of the funeral. Therefore, they were named after the most characteristic and conspicuous interior details.
The painting of the central pillar "Tomb of the Bulls".
For example, the “Kurgan with the Tomb of Shields and Chairs” (first half of the 6th century BC) was so named because it contained many stone shields of warriors, and again, stone chairs and beds for the dead.
Another painting of the central wall of the "Tomb of the Bulls". Achilles is waiting for Paris in ambush.
"Tomb of Painted Lions" (about 620 BC) - it is also understandable why it was named so, as well as "Tomb of Reliefs" (about 300 BC) and "Tomb of the Sea Waves" (IV-III centuries BC) - they were simply painted in it.
Fragment of a fresco from the "Tomb of Triclinius". Around 470 BC NS.
Moreover, just as in ancient Egypt, the vast majority of tombs were plundered a very long time ago, but in the Sorbo necropolis (south of Cerveteri), in 1836, a completely intact burial was found, which received the name "Tomb of Regolini-Galassi" (refers to the middle of VII BC), in honor of the priest Regolini and General Galassi who found it. It looks like a narrow corridor cut in stone, on both sides of which there are passages to the burial chambers. Here they found the most valuable from the artistic point of view gold jewelry, as well as vessels made of bronze and silver.
Gold jewelry from the burial at Vulci. (Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican)
In the Etruscan necropolis in Veii, two tombs with very interesting wall paintings were also found. The first, called the Campana Tomb, was found back in 1842. Its contents were sketched, thanks to which today we know exactly what was in it and how. The tomb was located on the side of a hill, and its entrance was guarded by two sculptures of sphinxes made of stone. In one of the cells, on a couch against the wall, they found the skeleton of a warrior, surrounded by his belongings. Moreover, in his helmet a hole is clearly gaping from the blow, which, quite possibly, led this warrior to death.
A sketch of the tomb of Campana (Veii), made by the archaeologist Kanina after its discovery.
Golden "Wreath from Vulci" close-up. Great masters and aesthetes were Etruscans, to be sure. (Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican)
Another wreath from the tomb in Vulci. Dates back to 350 BC.
The "Tomb of the Reliefs" in Cerveteri, which dates back to the 3rd century BC, is also very interesting. NS. She is carved into the rock, and in the walls of her cell there are also niches, similar to the beds, on which the bodies of the dead were located. Many objects are made as if they were hanging from the nails in the walls, but they only symbolize real things. That is, we see the principle - "God take what is useless for us!"? Obviously, there was such, and not in one tomb. But nevertheless, in other burials of the Etruscans, we find many valuable objects, armor and weapons, that is, they had different tastes, that's all!
Etruscan signet ring. (Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA)
For example, on the pilaster at the top there is an image of a jug and a black bowl. On the pilaster on the right are bright multi-colored wreaths that adorned the heads of the feasting. On the frieze above the wall niche we see the military equipment of the men of this family: swords, shields, helmets, greaves, and a pair of large pipes above the doorway. On the central columns there is a real exhibition of household items, some of which are of unknown purpose, since their artifacts have not survived. On the left pillar, on the left, you can see a large knife, as well as an ax, a jug, a coil of rope and, perhaps, a sling. On the right, on the same column, we see a leather bag with a belt, a drinking bowl and many other items. There is a kitchen scoop, tongs, and a large tray hanging on a hook.
"Tomb of the Reliefs" in Cerveteri. Here it is - the play board on the right side of the wall, with a pouch hanging on it!
Moreover, it is quite possible that in fact this is … a board for a board game, since parallel lines are distinguishable on its surface, and next to it there is a small bag in which bones or chips could be stored. On the right panel, a sling is clearly visible, and next to it is either a basket or a round head of cheese. There are also spits, a stand with two knives, a bowl on a tripod, and birds and animals filling the free space. That is, before us is a real everyday encyclopedia of Etruscan life.
Black-figure amphora. 540-530 biennium BC. (Louvre)
But as already noted, authentic objects, including a lot of jewelry made of gold and silver, as well as beautiful ceramics, are also found in the tombs of the Etruscans. That is, they did not spare any valuables for the dead. They did not mind building entire burial cities. Interestingly, the Etruscans knew the method of cremation and sometimes cremated their deceased and then placed their ashes in burial urns, sometimes simply laid them on the "deathbed", and sometimes placed them in ceramic urns or sarcophagi. And it is precisely these sarcophagi that are considered the most original examples of Etruscan sculpture. The lid on them is usually made in the form of a bed for a symposium (feast), and it depicts a reclining figure of the deceased, often with his wife. The faces clearly bear a portrait resemblance. Moreover, this similarity over time becomes more naturalistic and even frankly immodest. Physical disabilities, features of illness or old age - all this is emphasized and depicted without any embellishment. So the Roman sculptors had someone to learn from …
In any case, we see how far the funerary culture of the Etruscans is from the funerary culture of the Slavs, so that their "mutual origin" should be forgotten once and for all!
