This discovery, like many others, happened by accident. In the spring of 1828, a Tuscan peasant went out to plow the land. During plowing, his bull, pulling the plow, unexpectedly fell into a hole up to its belly. The bull's front legs were broken, and to tears the upset peasant had no choice but to run home for a gun and shoot the unfortunate animal. Pulling the carcass of the bull out of the ill-fated pit, the peasant drew attention to the fact that the hole was extremely deep and diverged somewhere to the sides. Taking an interest, he took up a shovel …
By the evening in his hands was a whole mountain of jewelry: gold vases and cups, massive gold earrings, rings, bracelets. The mysterious pit turned out to be an ancient burial place. This was not uncommon for Tuscany and the neighboring regions of Italy. Here, similar finds have been made before, although the burials, as a rule, turned out to be plundered in ancient times. And here for the first time a real treasure was found!
The discovery of an unknown peasant was the impetus for the development of a real "gold rush". It came to the owner of these places - Lucien Bonaparte, Prince Canino, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. Having dispersed all the amateur treasure hunters, he took matters into his own hands. For two years, the specialists hired by him opened several hundred tombs and removed from them about two thousand antique vases, hundreds of gold jewelry, figurines, vessels, cups, bracelets. Soon in all of Tuscany there was not a single unopened burial place, and the whole of Europe was vividly discussing the burning question: how and why did Lucien Bonaparte become so suddenly rich?
Excavations in Tuscany aroused interest not only in European courts, but also among scientists. Lucien Bonaparte sold part of his collection to a number of museums in France, England, Germany and Italy. From this, in fact, began the scientific study of the antiquities of the Etruscans - a people whose brilliant culture in many ways became the predecessor of Ancient Rome.
So treasure hunting opened the way to scientific excavations. As it turned out, "the treasures of Lucien Bonaparte" were mined in the necropolis of Vulci, one of the richest and most significant cities of ancient Etruria. Descriptions of finds made here have filled the pages of scientific journals for ten years in a row. In the following years, 1830-1840, other centers of the Etruscan civilization were discovered by excavations - Tarquinia, Cerveteri, Chiusi. It was in Tarquinia that the magnificent painted tombs were found. A little later, archaeologists found the now famous tombs of Barberini and Bernardini in Preneste, which shocked the world with the luxury of gold items and the finest ivory jewelry found here.
“With the last blow of the pickaxe, the stone that covered the entrance to the crypt shattered into pieces, and by the light of our torches we saw the vaults going deep into the depths, whose peace had not been disturbed by anyone for twenty centuries. Everything here was still in the same form as on that old day when the crypt was walled up. Ancient Etruria appeared before us as it was at the time of its greatness. On the burial beds, the warriors in armor seemed to be taking a break from the battles they had to take part in - against the Romans or our Gauls ancestors. The outlines of bodies, clothes, matter, paint were visible for several minutes, then everything disappeared as fresh air penetrated into the crypt, where our flickering torches were almost extinguished due to the lack of oxygen. The past rose up before us and immediately disappeared, like a dream, disappeared as if toto punish us for our audacious curiosity … As these fragile remains turned to dust, the air became more transparent. And then we saw ourselves in the company of other warriors, this time the brainchild of the artists of Etruria. It seemed that in the wavering light of our torches, the huge frescoes that adorned the crypt came to life on all four walls. They soon attracted all my attention, for they seemed to me the most significant in our discovery …"
Promotional video:
This is how the excavations of one of the Etruscan tombs were described by the French archaeologist Noel de Vergeres. It was he and his Italian colleague Francois Tuscany who stood at the origins of Etruscan archeology. Tuscany climbed and explored almost all the Etruscan burial grounds - in Populonia, Rudella, Cortona, Chiusi, Tarquinia, Vulci. Vergere became famous primarily for the fact that he compiled the first consolidated work on Etruria and the Etruscans, which has not lost its significance in our days. So the half-forgotten ancient civilization was drawn into the sphere of scientific interests.
It cannot be said that the science of that time did not know anything about the Etruscans. Even the Roman emperor Claudius wrote the history of this people, which has survived to this day in fairly large passages. In the 15th century, the Dominican monk Annio de Witterbe wrote The History of Etruscan Antiquities, and a hundred years later, the Irishman Thomas Dempster published a fundamental work containing a collection of all the information about the Etruscans preserved from antiquity, a list and description of Etruscan antiquities known at that time. A number of scientific works created by scientists of the 18th century were also dedicated to the Etruscans. Nevertheless, it was only after the discoveries in Tuscany that the Etruscan civilization began to acquire "flesh and blood", and the Etruscan antiquities acquired a new meaning.
Since the middle of the 19th century, visiting the Etruscan tombs has become a must-see item in the stay of all travelers about Italy. In 1909, Alexander Blok visited the Etruscan tomb of the Volumni, located near Perugia. “It is simple,” Blok wrote about the tomb. - At a depth of several dozen steps - in a rocky hill, above a portal overgrown with green mold, the stone sun between two dolphins does not shine. It smells of dampness and earth. Under the flashing light bulbs here and there, the low gray vaults of ten small rooms and statues of the numerous Volumnian family, lying on the lids of their sarcophagi, begin to flicker. The "dumb witnesses" of twenty-two centuries lie remarkably calm. On the finger of the hand, which supports the head and rests on two stone pillows, there is an invariable ring. In the other handquietly placed on the thigh, a traditional flat bowl - a pater with a coin for Charon. The dress is spacious and comfortable, the bodies and faces are heavy, with a tendency to be overweight … Significant decorations of this underground "apartment": everything that the family of the once indomitable Publius Volumnius, son of Kafatia needs, to pray prayerfully lie in death slumber, count centuries on the ground, overhead, to pray, as in life, and patiently wait for something; on the ceilings and tombs - the mournful and heavy heads of jellyfish; doves on their sides are a sign of peace; two winged and feminine Genius of Death, suspended from the ceiling of the middle hall. Stone heads of snakes protruding from the wall - guardians of graves … "what the family of the once indomitable Publius Volumnius, the son of Kafatia, needs to pray in a mortal slumber, to count the ages on earth, overhead, to pray as in life, and patiently wait for something; on the ceilings and tombs - the mournful and heavy heads of jellyfish; doves on their sides are a sign of peace; two winged and feminine Genius of Death, suspended from the ceiling of the middle hall. Stone heads of snakes protruding from the wall - guardians of graves … "what the family of the once indomitable Publius Volumnius, the son of Kafatia, needs to pray in a mortal slumber, to count the ages on earth, overhead, to pray as in life, and patiently wait for something; on the ceilings and tombs - the mournful and heavy heads of jellyfish; doves on their sides are a sign of peace; two winged and feminine Genius of Death, suspended from the ceiling of the middle hall. Stone heads of snakes protruding from the wall - guardians of graves … "Stone heads of snakes protruding from the wall - guardians of graves … "Stone heads of snakes protruding from the wall - guardians of graves …"
Today, the ruins of hundreds of Etruscan buildings have been registered, described, photographed, the remains of Etruscan cities have been found, huge necropolises have been discovered and studied. The history of the Etruscans and the reasons for the death of their civilization are well known. It is not completely clear, perhaps, only the origin of this people - about it in the scientific world, disputes still continue. There is no doubt that the Etruscans (another name - Tyrrhenians or Tyrsens) were immigrants from Asia Minor who moved to the Apennines during the first migration of peoples at the end of the Bronze Age. Ancient Egyptian sources call the Thirsenes among the "peoples of the Sea", in 1212-1151. BC e. attacking Egypt. Legends say that the ancestors of the Etruscans, led by Tyrrhenus, the son of Antis, King of Lydia, landed in Tarquinia. Subsequently, Tarquinia was one of the most significant and wealthy cities of Etruria, here the most important Religious and state institutions of the Etruscans were adopted. Almost nothing has survived from the city itself, but archaeologists have found here a huge necropolis about 5 km long. Another Etruscan city was located on the site of the modern Italian village of Cerveteri. It is in Cerveteri that one of the most famous Etruscan cemeteries is located. This "city of the dead" covers more than 350 hectares. It is in Cerveteri that one of the most famous Etruscan cemeteries is located. This "city of the dead" covers more than 350 hectares. It is in Cerveteri that one of the most famous Etruscan cemeteries is located. This "city of the dead" covers more than 350 hectares.
For more than two centuries, Vulci was the economic and political center of the Etruscan confederation. It was from here that the discovery of Etruscan antiquities began. In the 1820s, during the time of Lucien Bonaparte, there were about six thousand tombs here. Now no more than a dozen of them have survived - all the rest were destroyed by treasure hunters. Only the remains of the fortress wall and a dilapidated rock temple have survived from the city itself. A little more survived from the city of Veii, where a large temple, widely known in Italy, was once located. The rampart that surrounded the city is still being guessed in some places. This city fell into decay by the beginning of our era, and a contemporary of Emperor Augustus wrote: “Once you were powerful, on your square there was a golden throne. And now only the sound of a shepherd's horn is heard within your walls, and where your dead lie, they harvest cereals."
Ruins of necropolises, remnants of ancient city walls, frescoes, here and there ancient humpbacked stone bridges and spillways made in the rocks, the remains of city gates can be seen in other places in Central Italy. Ancient Etruria covered not only Tuscany, but also some areas of Umbria and the entire northern Latium - an area 200 km from north to south and about 150 km from west to east, between the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Arno River and the Tiber. Etruscan cities and settlements were also located on the adjacent lands.
At one time, the discovery of the "Etruscan Pompeii" - the city of Spina, the Adriatic port of the Etruscans, buried under multimeter deposits of sand and silt - became a sensation. The fact that this city once existed was known for a long time. Goods flocked here from almost all parts of the then world: amber was delivered from the Baltic Sea, fabrics, household utensils, olive oil, Egyptian wood, incense from the East. Etruria exported wine, bread, iron and bronze products through the back.
In ancient times, the port was located three kilometers from the sea, with which it was connected by a canal dug in the bed of one of the branches of the Po River. Gradually, however, sand and silt deposits forced the sea to retreat. The city began to fade away. By the 1st century A. D. e. The back, covered with swamps and covered with silt, disappeared.
Few archaeologists believed that it would ever be possible to find the Spina. Nevertheless, the city was found, and it happened thanks to the perseverance of the Italian archaeologist Nereo Alfieri. It took over thirty years to find Spina. Back in 1922, a Greco-Etruscan necropolis was accidentally found in the Po River delta, in the swamps of Comacchio. One could assume that the city itself was nearby. Searches were carried out until 1935. More than a thousand graves were found, but the city was never found. The searches, interrupted due to the aggravation of the international situation and the outbreak of war, resumed in 1953 and three years later were crowned with success: the back was found after all!
The ruins of the city covered an area of approximately 350 hectares. The very first excavations gave remarkable results. Foundations of houses were found, thousands of painted vases, mostly Greek, vessels belonging to Uvek BC. e. In 1955-1958. Nereo Alfieri opened two thousand graves in Comacchio, later their number reached four thousand.
In confrontation with the Greeks, Umbras, Ligurs, Sabines and other tribes inhabiting Italy, the Etruscan state increased its power. And by the middle of the 5th century BC. e. only Carthage and mainland Greece - countries that lay far from its borders, remained real rivals for him. And the rulers of Etruria could hardly have assumed then that one of its own cities would become its main, mortally dangerous rival: by no means the most significant and not the largest. Four centuries later, Rome will turn into a formidable state and capture all the Apennines …
The influence of the Etruscans on Rome is undeniable. Skilled metallurgists, shipbuilders, merchants and pirates, they sailed throughout the Mediterranean, assimilated the traditions of various peoples, while creating their own high and unique culture. We know that the Romans owe much to the inventive talent of the Etruscans in hydraulics, in irrigation, that the Etruscans invented the anchor and that the legion, the famous combat unit of the Romans, was already known to the Etruscans. It was from them that the Romans borrowed the architecture of temples with facing, handicraft techniques, the practice of building cities, the secret sciences of the haruspic priests who read the liver of sacrificial animals, a flash of lightning and a thunderclap, and even the custom of celebrating the victory of the generals with a triumph. Young men from noble families were sent to Etruria to study; Greek cults and myths penetrated into Rome through Etruria. And the traditions of the Etruscan culture played an important role in the formation of the culture of Ancient Rome.
From the book: "One Hundred Great Archaeological Discoveries." Author: A. Yu. Nizovsky