La Necropolis of Banditaccia in Cerveteri, in Lazio, is the main burial area of the ancient Caere, where the majority of monumental tombs are concentrated. It is an immense complex (about 20,000 chamber tombs are estimated to be present in this single necropolis) with absolutely unique characteristics.
The necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004 and constitute the first example of sites related to Etruscan civilization.
In some tombs (Capitelli tomb, the large Tumulus II with the Funeral Beds tombs, the Hut, the Greek Vases and Dolii tombs, the Pillar tombs, the Frame, and the Little House) multimedia installations have been created that evoke the ancient world that created this place.
The oldest tombs of the Necropolis of Banditaccia in Cerveteri are well-type, with cremations inside biconical vases, and pit-type for inhumations.
From the 7th century BC, with the prevalence of the inhumation rite, large tumuli with funerary chambers dug into the tuff and decorated with motifs inspired by domestic architecture forms developed.
These monuments, belonging to high-ranking families, yielded rich grave goods, often including materials imported from the Near East and Greece.
During the 6th century BC, alongside the tumulus type, now of medium and small forms, regularly aligned dado tombs along the burial roads and channeled tombs progressively spread and took hold.
During the 4th century BC, the hypogeum type consisting of a single room with benches attached to the walls became widespread, compared to which more imposing funerary monuments belonging to noble families represent isolated episodes.
This is the case of the Tomb of the Reliefs, located inside the Banditaccia Enclosure, which displays on its walls a rich parade of everyday objects rendered in stucco and painted, as well as, among the tombs ‘of the Municipality’, those of the Alcove, the Sarcophagi, the Triclinium, the Tamsnie, monuments that, like the Torlonia Tomb in the necropolis of Monte Abatone, offer testimony to the exceptional experiences of the funerary architecture of ancient Caere.
In the surroundings
Regolini Galassi Tumulus and Sorbo Necropolis
The tomb Regolini Galassi Tumulus was discovered intact in 1836 and is very famous for the rich grave goods preserved in the Vatican Museums. It dates to around the middle of the 7th century BC. Inscribed in a tumulus, it consists of two long, narrow rooms aligned with each other and two lateral oval-shaped rooms, with a roof made of large squared blocks that progressively jut out to close the tomb at the top, forming a pointed arch vault.
It housed three individuals, one cremated and two inhumed. Among the grave goods, a silver amphora bearing the inscription ‘mi larthia‘ (I am of Larth) reveals the name of the prince buried in the tomb.
