Once we reached Tarquinia, we saw a museum and had lectures on pottery and sarcophogi. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photographs inside the museum, so I can't show you all of the wonderful red and black figure pottery we saw.
Once we finished at the museum, we left the modern town and went to visit a necropolis (city of the dead). After a brief lecture (it was very windy, so I had trouble keeping my notes in order), we had the chance to go explore the tombs in pairs and analyze their art.
The above two photos are of some of the tombs we had the chance to see (from behind glass to protect the tombs from condensation). My partner and I decided to write our assignment on the second tomb shown. The two figures flanking the false door are probably Etruscan deities. That fact, along with the curious placement of the door above a stairway leading to another chamber, suggests that doors were particularly significant to the Etruscans as liminal spaces, possibly connected to the afterlife. After finishing our assignment, we got back on the bus and left for Caere (modern Cerveteri). When we got there we visited another necropolis. This one had no extant paintings, but it was much more extensive and exiting than the first. After a short lecture on the evolution of tomb practices, we got to explore the surrounding tombs on our own.
This is one of the circular tombs which we visited. Notice the corbeled archway. The dromos (narrow entryway) leads into a tomb chamber, such as the one pictured below.
It was fun exploring several dozen tombs. This picture is deceiving; the tombs were actually quite dark! But, thanks to the wonders of modern flash-photography, you can see them in colorful detail!
You may be able to make out a hand in this photograph. No worries; no students were harmed in the making of this blog.
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