Five Etruscan tombs from the 5th cenury BC are on exhibition for the first time at the necropolis of Monterozzi in Tarquinia. The tombs were discovered in the late 1950s by a team of archaeologists from the Fondazione Lerici in Milan, but kept under lock and key for fear that they could be damaged. After over half a century of study and restoration, the most recent intervention employing advanced endospection techniques, the tombs have been added to the museum’s main collection, where they are now visible to the general public.
The tombs are decorated with intricate bas-reliefs depicting animals, musicians, banquets, together with scenes of rural life, figures in erotic poses and scenes of punishment and heads of Gorgons.
Over 200 hundred tombs have been unearthed from the necropolic of Monterozzi, one of the most important Etruscan archaeological sites in Italy and a UNESCO world heritage site since 2004.
Necropoli dei Monterozzi di Tarquinia, Strada Provinciale Monterozzi Marina, Tarquinia, tel. 0766840000. 08.30-14.00. Mon closed.
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