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Methods used in the Archaeological Prospecting of Etruscan Tombs

1961; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 6; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1179/sic.1961.002

2047-0584

Carlo Maurilio Lerici,

Archaeological Research and Protection

That these new methods have proved themselves remarkably successful can be seen by the following list of discoveries, made in five years by two people, with subsidiary labour recruited on the spot. At Fabriano a necropolis. At Cerveteri 6oo tomb chambers containing 6,5oo excavated objects. At Vulci numerous structural remains of the ancient city, including the Tomb of the Inscriptions, with a large sculptured sarcophagus. At Tarquinia 2,6oo tomb chambers, 20 of them painted. At Sibari various remains of ancient buildings. For comparison with previous work, it is sufficient to record that in the Tarquinia region it had previously taken the whole of the nineteenth century to record as many painted tombs as we have recorded in five years; that since 1892, i.e. during sixty-six years, not a single painted tomb had been discovered, and that during the last fifteen years an average of one tomb a year had been discovered in the Cerveteri region. A comparison with the records shows that our discoveries at Tarquinia, which are still proceeding with success, will soon double the heritage of Etruscan pictures. The Polytechnic group has accomplished in five years what would previously have taken more than a century.