6. Etruscan Society

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From the course by University of Arizona

Roman Art and Archaeology

274 ratings

University of Arizona

Roman Art and Archaeology

274 ratings

The objective of this course is to provide an overview of the culture of ancient Rome beginning about 1000 BCE and ending with the so-called "Fall of Rome". We will look at some of the key people who played a role in Rome, from the time of the kings through the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. We will also focus on the city of Rome itself, as well as Rome's expansion through Italy, the Mediterranean, and beyond.

From the lesson

The Early Romans and Their Ancestors (ca. 1000 - 500 BCE)

In the Early Iron Age (ca. 1000 BCE), civilization in Italy was rather simple. The most sophisticated cultures in the peninsula were not the Romans at all, but rather groups to the north of Rome who have come to be called The Villanovans, who exploited the metal resources of northern Italy even before the officially noted founding of Rome. Later the Etruscans would appear (ca. 800 BCE), Rome's first great rivals. The Etruscans were a loose confederation of city-states north of Rome who even expanded into Rome and further south, as far as Pompeii. The Etruscans are particularly noted for their magnificent art, in particular the glorious painted tombs of Tarquinia.

1. The Orientalizing Period2:29

2. The Etruscans1:58

3. Etruscan Origins I1:09

4. Etruscan Origins II0:35

5. Etruscan Origins III0:47

6. Etruscan Society5:43

7. Etruscan Artisans4:06

8. Tumuli at Cerveteri1:45

9. Tombs at Tarquinia3:19

10. Life and Death4:12

Meet the Instructors

David Soren
Regents Professor of Classics and Anthropology
Classics and Anthropology

The Etruscans of the early seventh century B.C.E.

were governed by an aristocracy in many of their communities.

This is separation of power between rich and poor, can be seen for

example in the gigantic tombs built by the wealthy in sites such as as it's called.

Although looting of tombs by Italy's highly effective tombaroli

managed to clean out most of the Etruscan tombs long before modern times,

a number of tombs were found intact.

Among them, the famous Regolini-Galassi tomb, discovered in 1836,

after investigations by two amateur archaeologists,

well, really, treasure seekers, who were working on Vatican controlled land.

One was the local priest of Cerveteri, Alessandro Regolini,

and the other, his friend, General, Vincenzo Galassi.

The discoveries these two fellows made were astonishing.

Revealing stunning gold art works.

The use of an alphabet, which blended the age old Villanova, unwritten language,

with the newly formed letter characters developed by the Venetians.

And discoveries like that show why even today it's easy for

us to read Etruscan because it looks like our own alphabet.

But we have great difficulty translating what they mean, what the words are and

what they're trying to say, because all these words are different from our words.

So it's written a lot like the way we write, but

we just can't figure out, much of the time, what they're trying to say.

Although we're slowly getting better at it.

Cevereti was one of the major Villanovan communities, which developed into

an Etruscan city state, and an international trading center.

Since much Etruscan domestic architecture was built of oak,

quercus serous oak, and other perishable materials,

it is through the necropolis, the city of the dead that we come

to know a sight because the tombs were carved into the natural stone underground.

This is why they survive.

The tombs featured a long entrance, known in Greek as a Dromos.

And one descended through a flight of steps

to reach the burial chamber which is known as the Camera.

C-A-M-E-R-A.

The front door of the tomb was sealed up with a vertically placed sigillum,

S-I-G-I-L-L-U-M, or stone slab, to discourage robbers.

Reaching the antechamber, right away, one could see a little hollowed

out area called an alae, or wing Which would be carved to the left and

to the right of the entry door, right after you've come into the antechamber.

In these hollowed-out areas to the left and

right, grave goods and even a subsequent burial or two might be placed.

The antechamber itself was found straight ahead from the entry and

it contained in the Regolini/Galassi tomb, the burial of a male,

laid out on a bed and surrounded with honorary bronze shields.

There were also iron spits used as money before coins existed.

But this was just the antechamber.

Apparently a burial made subsequent to the one in the main back chamber.

That back chamber contained the remains of a woman.

But not just any woman, a woman who's name was perhaps Larthia,

L-A-R-T-H-I-A, and who was Etruscan royalty.

She was found associated with an ornate throne nearby and

she was laid out on her back with a magnificently made pectoral on her chest,

a gold work with parallels in ancient Assyria to the east and

such things are mentioned in the Bible.

A burial like this shows the extraordinary importance and

value that could be placed on women in Etruscan society.

In addition, a beautifully crafted fibula, an elaborately

decorated gold pin which was a foot high was recovered from the body.

No doubt pinning a now missing garment, a royal garment to her.

Fibuli, these pins were commonly used to fasten clothing and

antiquity, but Etruscan examples often had remarkable decoration.

The main body of this thing featured what appears to be separately made and

soldered-on ducks and griffins,

while stylized lions adorn the upper part of the disc.

Gold wire called filigree and

tiny balls of decoration called granulation, were also widely employed.

Well, how did the Etruscans, who inherited their skills, metalworking of course,

from the Villanovans, how did they manage to create such magnificent gold work?

Well, I was determined to find out, so I asked an expert.

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