TUSCANY NEWS

Digging up a mystery

Etruscan remains raise doubts
(issue no. 157/2012 / February 16, 2012)

Archeologists recently made an incredible discovery at a dig in Montereggi, uncovering an Etruscan tomb at the bottom of a well 9.5 meters deep. The human remains were resting on top of a bed of ceramic pots that once contained wine. The unusual discovery took place at the Montereggi Etruscan site, located on Capraia island, where an urban settlement dates back to the third century BC.

 

The excavation, which in October celebrated its seventh year, has already been in the headlines. This, however, is the first time that human remains have emerged from the ancient urban settlement, unusual as Etruscan customs strictly forbade burials in urban areas.

 

However, there are other more surprizing aspects of this discovery. It seems to have been a burial, not an accident. The skeleton remains belong to an adult, who seems to have been interred in the well presumably already dead, after being placed in a shroud. The remains were found atop a significant number of containers used for the consumption of wine, inside which was found a substantial amount of resin, an element that suggests a great feast, probably a collective one, which would precede the burial.

 

The body was also covered with stones and bricks, likely to keep the deceased firmly ‘in place.'

The remains are now at the regional laboratory of human anthropology, where researchers are trying to determine age and cause of death.

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