A necropolis from the Etruscan era was discovered near Florence.
Namely, in the Tuscan town of Banjo a Ripoli, a necropolis with almost 170 graves was discovered during construction works. They date from the time when the Etruscan community lived in the area. The find could also provide new information about the life of the Villanova community, the forerunner of the Etruscan culture.
Archaeologists came across the site during the construction of a new sports center in a town near Florence. In the necropolis, they found the remains of six shaft graves containing terracotta dishes and the ashes of the deceased. Next to him lay other grave goods. In many other graves, the remains of the deceased who were buried by skeleton burial have been preserved.
Among the items found were those for personal use such as hairpins, mirrors, combs, but also game figures, dice, glass containers for balms, gold earrings and oil lamps.
Antonella Ranaldi, who is responsible for archaeology, art and landscape in the city of Florence, said it was a discovery that spanned several centuries and offered a fascinating insight into life in the area 2,000 years ago and more.
The prehistoric culture of Villanova existed in northern Italy between 1100 and 700 BC, that is, before the rise of the Etruscan culture. It is the oldest Iron Age culture of central and northern Italy.
It developed from the ossuary grave culture of Central Europe. It was typical for them to cremate their dead and place their ashes in ceramic urns with a characteristic double cone shape.
Without interruption, the culture was inherited by the Etruscans in 900 AD. Their culture was extremely rich and highly developed, but not many traces of it have been preserved, so finds like this are even more reason for archaeologists to rejoice.
Etruscan culture is known for its famous painted necropolises, which, however, represent only a small part of Etruscan art, AA writes.
