15 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Extraordinary Discovery of a Unique Painted Tomb in Tarquinia’s Etruscan Necropolis

Exceptional discovery in the necropolis of Tarquinia, located near the western coast in central Italy, north of Rome (a UNESCO site): a new chamber tomb painted with dance and workshop scenes brings the extraordinary funerary art of the Etruscans back into the limelight after centuries of oblivion.

The first discovery dates back to the last days of 2022, when the Soprintendenza staff inspected some cavities that had opened up in farmland near Tarquinia, in the heart of the Etruscan necropolis of Monterozzi. With the help of archaeo-speleologists, the exploration confirmed that these were Etruscan chamber tombs that had already been visited in the past by clandestine excavators.

One of the tombs, however, had a surprise in store: part of the left wall had collapsed, revealing access to a deeper chamber tomb, partially filled with earth and debris. Beautifully colored painted scenes decorated the walls, as a sign of the memory of ancient Etruscan civilization.

To protect the site from potential threats posed by grave robbers and careless visitors, the Superintendency conducted the excavation operations under strict confidentiality. Thanks to a significant grant from the Ministry of Culture, archaeologists were able to carry out a thorough intervention to secure the tomb and maintain its delicate balance. Consequently, the announcement of the discovery was delayed for two years to allow for further study of the findings.

Tomb at the time of discovery - left wall. Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio
Tomb at the time of discovery – left wall. Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio

Daniele F. Maras, the archaeological officer in charge of the discovery and now the director of the National Archaeological Museum in Florence, explained that after they restored access to the burial chamber and installed a metal door, the archaeological excavation revealed some interesting findings. He noted that the materials they collected did not belong to the trousseau of the painted tomb, which dates back to the mid-5th century B.C. Instead, these materials had collapsed from an older tomb, which is more than a century older and dates from the end of the Orientalizing period.

The archaeological investigation has uncovered a unique and complex situation at the site, revealing that the painted tomb was excavated deep beneath a pre-existing burial. In ancient times, grave robbers had breached the tomb by piercing the closing slab, looting the original grave goods. Subsequently, the collapse of the upper chamber brought debris and objects that mixed with the remains of the lower tomb. Today, only a few fragments of Attic red-figure pottery remain from what once constituted the grave goods of the painted tomb, highlighting the value of the objects originally laid with the deceased. However, the true treasure of this discovery lies in the stunning frescoes that adorn the walls of the burial chamber.

Restored tile of the left wall. Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio
Restored tile of the left wall. Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio

The wall paintings, currently undergoing restoration, provide a unique insight into Etruscan culture. The left wall features a dynamic scene of a frenetic dance, where men and women are depicted moving in a circle around an elegant flute player, reflecting the vitality and celebratory spirit characteristic of the Etruscan people.

In contrast, the back wall reveals the figures of a woman—possibly the deceased—and two young men; however, a portion of the decoration has been irretrievably lost due to structural collapse. The right wall presents an even more enigmatic depiction of a working metal workshop. Scholars speculate that this may represent the mythical workshop of the god Sethlans, the Etruscan equivalent of Hephaestus, or a royal workshop associated with the family of the interred individual.

Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio
Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio

Restoration work on the site is ongoing and demands extreme precision. Superintendent Margita Eichberg expressed satisfaction with the progress, noting that “the extraordinary level of the paintings” is already evident in the initial restoration efforts conducted by Adele Cecchini and Mariangela Santella, which have highlighted the refinement of the details in the figures of the flutist and one of the dancers. Daniele Maras added that this discovery marks the first new painted tomb with a figured frieze to be found in Tarquinia in decades, emphasizing its intriguing potential due to its historical significance, artistic quality, and the uniqueness of some of the depicted scenes.

Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio

Cover Image Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio

Related Articles

Gladiators’ ancient hygiene tools on exhibit in Izmir

22 July 2021

22 July 2021

Turkey’s Izmir Archaeological Museum is hosting a different exhibition this month. A bronze strigil is the museum’s guest this month...

Oldest Evidence of Head Shaping in Europe Discovered in Italian Cave

11 August 2025

11 August 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered the earliest known case of artificial cranial modification (ACM – deliberate head shaping) on the continent, dating...

Places to Visit in Oman

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

There are many places to visit in Oman. In this article, we wanted to talk about a wonderful country that...

Cosmic cataclysm 1,500 years ago may have caused downfall of the Hopewell Culture

3 February 2022

3 February 2022

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati find evidence of cosmic cataclysm 1,500 years ago at 11 ancient sites in three...

3,000-Year-Old Rare British-Style Sickle Unearthed in France

9 August 2025

9 August 2025

On August 6, 2025, France’s Inrap (Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives) announced a remarkable archaeological find at Val-de-Reuil, in...

4,500-year-old rare Canaanite goddess sculpture found by a farmer in Gaza Strip

25 April 2022

25 April 2022

A farmer in the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, found a rare 4,500-year-old stone sculpture while...

Earliest evidence for intestinal parasites in the UK came from Stonehenge

20 May 2022

20 May 2022

Researchers think they have discovered the earliest evidence for intestinal parasites in the UK. Ancient poop found at the site...

Archaeologists Uncover Rare Trojan War-Era Armor from 1200 BCE in Czechia

22 July 2025

22 July 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery in South Moravia has brought new insights into Bronze Age Europe and its warrior elites. The...

3,000-Year-Old Twisted Gold Torc Discovered in Essex, southeast England

16 July 2023

16 July 2023

A metal detectorist has discovered a 3,000-year-old part of a twisted gold torc in a field near Mistley, on the...

Researchers decipher enigmatic ancient ‘Unknown Kushan Script’

13 July 2023

13 July 2023

A research team at the University of Cologne’s Department of Linguistics deciphered a writing system belonging to the Kushan Empire,...

Interesting discovery at Crowland digs, a human poo from the Saxon period or coprolite found

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

Excavations in Abbey Church Field in Crowland, near Peterborough, have also yielded such amazing finds results for archaeologists. The archaeological...

Artifacts used for ancient magic rituals discovered on Darb al-Hajj route from Cairo to Mecca

11 September 2023

11 September 2023

The artifacts, found in the 1990s on the ancient Darb al-Hajj route from Cairo to Mecca, may have been in...

8,200-year-old lacquerware found in China

9 July 2021

9 July 2021

Archaeologists in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province have identified two items of lacquerware at the Jingtoushan ruins, the oldest ever found...

A Colonnaded Hall with Extraordinary Frescoes of Still Life Found in Pompeii

27 December 2024

27 December 2024

Archaeologists in the famous ancient Roman city of Pompeii, one of the world’s most iconic archaeological sites, have revealed extraordinary...

Nine Ancient Patolli Games Found in Mexico

10 September 2024

10 September 2024

In recent rescue excavations in Mexico by archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) nine patolli engravings...