Norchia is an ancient

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

city with an adjacent

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

, near

Vetralla Vetralla is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in central Italy, south of that city, located on a shoulder of Monte Fogliano. History Vetralla's dominating fortified position in the heart of Etruscan territories has been continu ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The site is along the Via Clodia, and is not far from the more well known Etruscan town of

Tarquinia Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. ...

History

The ancient name of the site is uncertain; some sources identify it with the ancient Etruscan town known as ''Orclae'', whose name is reported in medieval sources. The locale was already inhabited in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, and the city and its adjoining necropolis grew with the arrival of the Etruscans. The urban settlement reached its high point between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC The tombs are generally constructed from large blocks of

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

carved directly into the cliff, and are entered from stairs heading down into the rock. Their cliffside construction, rather than being built on the ground, makes the tombs unusual for the Etruscans. Originally bodies were placed within stone sarcophagi that may still be found in many of the tombs. The site was later inhabited in medieval times, and remnants of a castle and church still remain. It was abandoned as a settlement in the 14th century.

Images

File:Norchia.jpg File:Norchia, strada tagliata2.jpg File:Frammento di frontone da norchia, IV-III sec. ac..JPG File:Tombe doriche di Norchia 01.jpg

References

* Mauro Cristofani, ''Dizionario Illustrato della Civiltà Etrusca'', Giunti, Firenze 1999, , pp. 191–192.
VR panorama of an Etruscan tomb in Norchia at Tuscia 360
Etruscan cities Province of Viterbo Former populated places in Italy Archaeological sites in Lazio {{lazio-geo-stub