Cerveteri is a town and comune of the northern Lazio, in the province of
Rome. Originally known as Caere, it is famous for a number of Etruscan
necropoleis that includesome of the best Etruscan tombs anywhere.
Necropolis of the Banditaccia
The most famous attraction of Cerveteri is the Necropoli della
Banditaccia, which has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site
together with the necropoleis in Tarquinia. It covers an area of 400 ha,
of which 10 ha can be visited, encompassing a total of 1,000 tombs often
housed in characteristic mounds. It is the largest ancient necropolis in
the Mediterranean area. The name Banditaccia comes from the leasing (bando)
of areas of land to the Cerveteri population by the local landowners.
The tombs date from the 9th century BC (Villanovan culture) to the late
Etruscan age (3rd century BC). The most ancient ones are in the shape of
a pit, in which the ashes of the dead were housed; also simple potholes
are present. From the Etruscan period are two types of tombs: the mounds
and the so-called "dice", the latter being simple square tombs built in
long rows along "roads". The visitable area contains two such "roads",
the Via dei Monti Ceriti and the Via dei Monti della Tolfa (6th century
BC). The mounds are circular structures built in tuff, and the
interiors, carved from the living rock, house a reconstruction of the
house of the dead, including a corridor (dromos), a central hall and
several rooms. Modern knowledge of Etruscan daily is largely dependent
on the numerous decorative details and finds from such tombs. The most
famous of these mounds is the so-called Tomba dei Rilievi (Tomb of the
Reliefs, 3rd century BC), identified from an inscripton as belonging to
one Matunas and provided with an exceptional series of frescoes,
bas-reliefs and sculptures portraying a large series of contemporary
life tools. The most recent tombs date from the 3rd century BC. Some of
them are marked by external cippi, which are cylindrical for men, and in
the shape of a small house for women. Most finds excavated at Cerveteri
necropolis are currently housed in the National Etruscan Museum, Rome.
Others are in the Archaeological Museum at Cerveteri itself.