In Italy, a uniquely preserved Etruscan house about 2400 years old has been discovered
Publisher ČTK
01.06.2010 09:25
Grosseto (Italy) - Ancient Etruscan house approximately 2400 years old discovered by Italian archaeologists at the site of Vetulonia located about 200 kilometers north of Rome. Due to the type of find and its state of preservation, experts claim it is a unique discovery in Italian territory. This was reported today by the Italian agency ANSA. "Today we are rewriting history here. This is a unique find in all of Italy, as it allows us to reconstruct the house in its entirety," stated Simona Rafanelli, director of the local archaeological museum, according to the adnkronos.com server. Currently, only a small number of Etruscan houses are known, and this new find near the Tuscan town of Grosseto is exceptionally well preserved. "It is the best-preserved Etruscan house ever found in Italy. It is the only case of its kind. It provides us with many new pieces of information," said Rafanelli. Experts believe that at the time of its destruction, the house belonged to a wealthy and influential family. It served both residential and commercial purposes. Research, which has been ongoing for two weeks, has already shown, for example, that the house was expanded and renovated several times during its three-hundred-year existence between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC. The walls of the house are made of bricks made from sun-dried clay, according to Rafanelli, this is the first known evidence of Etruscan bricks. The floor is made up of ceramic shards from vases, amphorae, and black plates. A stone cellar was built, which according to archaeologists was used for food storage. On a small domestic altar lay six Roman and Etruscan coins, which suggest that the house was destroyed around the year 79 BC, during the rule of the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla. "This structure belonged to the ancient city of Vetulonia and is much older than other parts of the city that have been examined so far. (...) We want to make this site accessible as an open-air museum," added Rafanelli, pledging that research in this location will continue. The Etruscans inhabited the area of present-day central Italy approximately from 800 to 100 BC, before being subjugated by the Romans. Their origin, history, and language, however, remain a mystery to scholars.
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