Monterozzi necropolis

The Monterozzi necropolis () is an Etruscan necropolis on a hill east of Tarquinia in Lazio, Italy. The necropolis has about 6,000 graves, the oldest of which dates to the 7th century BC. About 200 of the tomb chambers are decorated with frescos.

The painted tombs of the necropolis are the largest documentation of Etruscan pictorial art, and they are singular testaments to Etruscans' quotidian life, ceremonies, and mythology. Some of the tombs are monumental, cut in rock and topped by tumuli, accessible by means of inclined corridors or stairways. Many different subjects are shown in the frescos, including rituals, animals, magical themes, dance and musical instruments. The best known tombs are the Tomb of the Leopards, of Hunting and Fishing, of the Augurs, of the Triclinium, the Blue Demons and
of the Bulls.

Many of the artifacts found in the necropolis and some of the frescos have been brought to the neighboring Tarquinia National Museum in order to preserve them. The paintings and wall decorations of the Tomb of the Baron, discovered in 1827, were also reproduced on the walls of the so-called Etruscan Cabinet in the Castle of Racconigi.

Along with the Banditaccia Necropolis, Monterozzi was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, notable as "''the depiction of daily life in the frescoed tombs, many of which are replicas of Etruscan houses, is a unique testimony to this vanished culture''".

Description

The burial ground dates from the Iron Age, or Villanovan period (9th century BC), up to Roman times.
From the Villanovan period simple round tombs carved from rock for cremation burials can be seen at the site.

Towards the end of the 8th century BC, the first funerary chambers appeared as family tombs due to the rise to power of an aristocracy. These appeared on the surface as tumuli, sometimes assuming impressive proportions to enhance the power and prestige of the nobles, as can be seen especially in the so-called King and Queen tombs. There were about 600 tumuli still visible in the 19th century, following which many were razed after excavation.

The tumuli usually covered subterranean chambers carved into the rock, containing sarcophagi and personal possessions of the deceased, and many of which have wall paintings.

The earliest sarcophagi are carved with the image of the deceased supine on the lid. The later and more numerous types show him or her reclining on the left side, facing the spectator and frequently holding a libation vessel; occasionally a man displays an inscribed scroll listing his ancestry and the magisterial offices he occupied. During the second half of the 4th century BC sculpted and painted sarcophagi of nenfro, marble and alabaster came into use. They were deposited on rock-carved benches or against the walls in the now very large underground chambers.

Sarcophagi were also decorated with reliefs of symbolic or mythological content, often derived from Tarentine models. Sarcophagi of this type, which continue until the second century, are found in such numbers at Tarquinia that they must have been manufactured locally. The walls of the tomb-chambers of the late period are painted with underworld demons escorting the dead on their journey to the beyond, scenes in the nether world, processions of magistrates and other symbols of the rank of the eminent members of the families buried there.

Among the most notable painted tombs famous for the artistic quality of their frescoes are:
*the Tomb of the Leopards has some of the best preserved frescoes
*the Tomb of the Augurs
*the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing
*the Tomb of the Triclinium
*the Tomb of the Blue Demons
*the Tomb of the Bulls, the earliest tomb decorated with complex frescoes dated to either 540–530 BC or 530–520 BC. It is one of the rare Etruscan tombs which have erotic frescoes
*the Tomb of the Whipping. It is also one of the rare Etruscan tombs which have erotic frescoes.
*the Tomb of Orcus is notable for having the only known pictorial depiction of the Etruscan daemon Tuchulcha
*the Tomb of the Bigas

Gallery

File:Monterozzi Necropolis Villanovan period tombs AvL.JPG, Villanovan period tombs for cremation burials
File:I Tumuli della Doganaccia - Museo archeologico nazionale tarquiniense Tarquinia 06.JPG, Tumuli
File:CabaneFustigMonterozzi.jpg, Entrance to the Tomb of the Whipping
Entrance to an Etruscan tomb in Tarquinia Italy.jpg, Entrance to a tomb
File:Tomb of Anina Tarquinia.jpg, Tomb of Anina
File:Tomb of the augurs.jpg, Tomb of the Augurs
Etruskischer Meister 002.jpg, Tomb of the Triclinium
Ambito greco-orientale, tomba della caccia e pesca, 520-510 ac ca. 05.jpg, Tomb of Hunting and Fishing
File:Tomb of the Bulls back wall main chamber.jpg, Tomb of the Bulls
Etruscan mural achilles Troilus.gif, Tomb of the Bulls
File:Etruscan mural typhon2.jpg, Mural of Typhon
File:Tomba del guerriero, 1430-400 ac ca. 01.jpg, Tomb of the Warrior
Tomba Bartoccini SAM 3961.JPG, Tomb Bartoccini
File:Tomba della fustigazione, 490 ac ca. 01.jpg, Tomb of the Whipping
File:Tomba dei giocolieri, 510 ac ca. 02.jpg, Tomb of the Jugglers
File:Tomba bettini (5513), 450 ac ca. 03 simposio.jpg, Tomb Claudio Bettini
File:Tomba_del_gorgoneion,_400_ac_ca._02.jpg, Tomb of the Gorgoneion
File:Brocca a tre colli, dalla tomba di bocchoris a monterozzi, 700-690 ac ca.jpg, Three-necked jug from the Bocchoris tomb ( Tarquinia National Museum)
File:Pendenti di collana con divinità egizie, dalla tomba di bocchoris a monterozzi, 700-690 ac ca.jpg, Necklace pendants with Egyptian gods (Tarquinia National Museum)
File:Oinochoe a forma di toro con orecchini, dalla tomba di bocchoris a monterozzi, 700-690 ac ca.jpg, Bull-shaped oenochoe with earrings (Tarquinia National Museum)
File:Olla su alto sostegno, con figura umana come manico del coperchio, dalla tomba di bocchoris a monterozzi, 700-690 ac ca. 01.jpg, Olla on high support, with a human figure as lid handle (Tarquinia National Museum)

See also

*Etruscan art
* Etruscan society
* Tarquinia National Museum

References

External links

Museum and Necropolis of Tarquinia and Cerveteri Official websiteMonterozzi necropolis - Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell'Etruria Meridionale

Photos inside the tombs

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Archaeological sites in Lazio
Cemeteries in Italy
Etruscan tombs
World Heritage Sites in Italy
Tumuli
Villanovan culture
Necropoleis