As part of the excavations conducted in the Etruscan necropolis of Caiolo, located in thearchaeological area of San Giuliano in Barbarano Romano (Viterbo), a still intact tomb emerged that can be dated to the final phase of the Orientalizing period, at the end of the 7th century B.C.
Upon removal of the slab sealing the burial chamber, numerous vessels appeared, many of them in fine painted pottery, traceable to the Etruscan-geometric style. These objects seem to respond to a precise ritual performed before the final closure of the tomb. A basin and several bronze ornaments for the deceased can still be distinguished in situ on the left funerary bed. Documentation, a preliminary stage to the actual excavation of the tomb, is being carried out in these hours.
Soprintendenza archaeological officer Barbara Barbaro stressed the importance of the institution’s constant presence in the area, not only as support to the team from Baylor University in Texas, but also through targeted interventions in neighboring areas, as in the case of the monumental Tomb of the Queen. The latter, an imposing funerary structure 10 meters high and 14 meters wide, is distinguished by two entrances and as many mock Doric doors. Interest in the site was further enlivened in 2023, during cleanup operations, when another dado tomb, located to the left of the Queen’s Tomb, emerged, consisting of three chambers surmounted by three semi-fake doors.
In March 2024, on the other hand, excavation and restoration operations were completed at the so-called Tomb of the Salamander, as part of the three-year program overseen by the Superintendency. One of the chambers, despite having already been breached, returned an extraordinarily valuable jewel: a red carnelian scarab, engraved with the figure of a warrior on horseback armed with a spear, datable to the fourth century BC.
The necropolis of Caiolo, named after the hill on which it lies, constitutes one of the richest and most articulate testimonies to Etruscan civilization. In addition to the Tomb of the Queen, the site has other structures of considerable interest, including the Tomb of the Deer-so named because of an engraving visible along the access stairs, a nucleus of about fifteen portico tombs, the Tomb of the Beds, with four burial beds intended for two adults and two children, and the Tomb of the Cuccumella.
The ongoing investigations are being conducted under a grant from the Ministry of Culture to Baylor University of Texas, under the direction of Davide Zori, and in close collaboration with the Superintendence. The project is also supported by the Municipality of Barbarano Romano and Marturanum Regional Park, confirming the joint commitment of the institutions in enhancing and protecting a valuable archaeological heritage.
“The necropolis of San Giuliano,” explains Dr. Barbaro, “has more than 500 tombs around the settlement, most of which were struck by the underground either in ancient or more recent times. Very rare to find an inviolate tomb. Hence the exceptionality of the current discovery.” “An intact context is not only central for the purposes of protection, but also because it gives us a complete cross-section of life through the ritual of death.”
Emphasizing that “the collaboration between the Superintendency and the University is fundamental to the knowledge of the ancient world” and how in Barbarano in particular a unique synergy has been created between the Ministry, the Municipality, the University, Marturanum Park, the Police Force and the citizenry, the official comments, “This is what happens when an inviolate tomb is found; it turns into a collective event. Almost as if the opening of the tomb’s door constitutes a bridge to our past, the gateway to our ancestors. The silence-the awe, the respect for those who are waiting for us behind that huge boulder. The commotion.”
“Happy to have taken material from those who would illegally want it for a few,” he concluded. “A heritage that will instead tell a beautiful story for everyone!”
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| Tuscia, archaeologists discover untouched Etruscan tomb in Barbarano Romano |
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