As you read this story, you will learn the following:
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A team of archaeologists searching central Italy have discovered an intact Etruscan tomb.
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The sealed tomb may be 2,600 years old and contains more than 100 grave goods.
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Bronze ornaments and a delicate silver hair shaft are the highlights of the find.
A rare discovery of a completely sealed Etruscan chamber tomb in Italy brings an added bonus: more than 100 grave goods from the seventh century B.C.
A team of archaeologists working on the San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project, located in San Giuliano, about 43 miles northwest of Rome in the hilly region of central Italy, called the discovery one of the most important in recent decades related to our understanding of pre-Roman civilization, according to a statement from Baylor University.
“This completely sealed burial chamber represents a rare find in Etruscan archeology,” Davide Zori, a professor of history and archeology at Baylor University and the project’s principal investigator, said in a statement. He added that “never before has a well-preserved burial chamber from this era been excavated in the region using modern archaeological techniques.”
When the team entered the unspoiled 2,600-year-old tomb, they found four skeletons on carved stone beds, surrounded by more than 100 well-preserved grave goods, including ceramic vases, iron weapons, bronze ornaments and an exquisite silver hair shaft.
The research project, which has been active in the area since 2016, has uncovered more than 600 graves in cemeteries surrounding the Etruscan town at the top of the San Giuliano plateau. So far, though, all other burial chambers – defined as tombs carved out of the rock into the shape of small houses with pitched roofs – had previously been looted. As early as the beginning of the Roman occupation in the late third century BC, some people were emptied of their valuables
Inside the sealed tomb, preliminary analysis suggests the four people buried there may have been two pairs of men and women, but researchers are awaiting more conclusive results. “The SGARP team has completed the excavation of the tomb, but research and analysis of the archaeological data generated by this incredible discovery has only just begun,” Zori said.
The research project is a collaboration between a consortium of universities led by Baylor University and the Virgil College of Rome in partnership with the town of Barbarano Romano. The project aims to reconstruct the long-term changes in human occupation of the plateau and surrounding hills.
The team believes that hundreds of rock-cut Etruscan tombs surrounding the plateau are likely related to the town. A project statement said: “SGARP aims to investigate the Etruscan occupation and understand subsequent transformations, including incorporation into the Roman Empire, conversion to a medieval castle, and the final abandonment of the site sometime before 1300 AD.”
Along the way, Baylor students have been intertwined in the process. “Being part of a project that uncovered an unrobbed tomb is very surreal,” Kendall Peterson, a senior anthropology major from San Antonio, said in a statement. “It’s something archaeologists have hoped for their entire careers, and it was so exciting to see the reaction from our professors, and the pride and excitement from the local community in Barbarano. It reminded me that we are not just studying artifacts, we are contributing to a shared cultural heritage that is still very important to the people who live there today.”
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