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Hub Of Etruscan Civilization Found
The Times ^ | 9-2-2006 | Martin Penner

Posted on 09/04/2006 3:17:17 PM PDT by blam

Hub of Etruscan civilisation found

By Martin Penner

Archaeologists believe that they have found the ruins of the religious and political centre of the Etruscan civilisation. The Etruscans lived in the area between Rome and Florence from the 8th century BC until they were absorbed by Romans about 600 years later.

The heads of Etruria’s 12 city states would meet to discuss their affairs every spring at a holy place called the Fanum Voltumnae. It was never clear where the Fanum was but archaeologists from Macerata University believe they have found it at a site near the hill town of Orvieto, 60 miles (96km) north of Rome.

Extensive digs at the site revealed the walls of a central temple, two important roads and part of the perimeter wall of a major shrine, all built in the tufa stone used by the Etruscans. “It has all the characteristics of a great shrine, and of that great shrine in particular,” said Simonetta Stopponi, Professor of Etruscan studies at Macerata University.

So far the team has not found an inscription referring to the Etruscan god Voltumna, which would confirm the site of the shrine.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: civilization; etruscan; found; godsgravesglyphs; hub

1 posted on 09/04/2006 3:17:19 PM PDT by blam
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To: SunkenCiv

GGG Ping.


2 posted on 09/04/2006 3:17:57 PM PDT by blam
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To: blam

I kinda pictured a vase sitting at the hub ... I wonder why?


3 posted on 09/04/2006 3:19:46 PM PDT by NonValueAdded (Tom Gallagher - the anti-Crist [FL Governor, 2006 primary])
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To: blam
Early Etruscans (artist's rendition)


4 posted on 09/04/2006 3:27:32 PM PDT by Larry Lucido ("There's no problem so big that government intervention can't make it worse.")
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ping for future.
5 posted on 09/04/2006 3:37:43 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( Microevolution is real; Macroevolution is not real.)
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To: blam
Eccellente! Orvieto is a gorgeous walled city built on the gray volcanic rock mentioned in the article. This is a great find, hopefully there will be tours available for tourists in the future. Go to your best local winery and pick up a bottle of Orvieto Classico to celebrate. You'll be glad you did!
6 posted on 09/04/2006 4:05:05 PM PDT by SaxxonWoods (Free Iran! WARNING! Forbidden Cartoon: .. . *-O(( :-{>. . . .)
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To: NonValueAdded

I kinda pictured a vase sitting at the hub ... I wonder why?



What does an etruscan earn?


7 posted on 09/04/2006 4:47:50 PM PDT by wizr (Live life with a Passion!)
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To: wizr

I never knew it was missing!


8 posted on 09/04/2006 5:16:02 PM PDT by Wally_Kalbacken
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To: Wally_Kalbacken

I think it's on display in Lost Wages.


9 posted on 09/04/2006 7:08:12 PM PDT by wizr (Live life with a Passion!)
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To: blam

Thanks blam, will ping.

Pre-Roman sanctuary discovered [ Etruscan federation ]
News 24 | Sep 2 2006 | unattributed
Posted on 09/02/2006 3:09:24 PM EDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1694485/posts


10 posted on 09/04/2006 9:08:01 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Saturday, September 2, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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Whoops, I lied. Just adding this to the GGG catalog, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

11 posted on 09/04/2006 10:22:39 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Saturday, September 2, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: blam

Voltumna, also known as Veltha, is a chthonic god of the Etruscans, later elevated to the status of supreme god. He is also the patron god of the federation of twelve Etruscan city states. The center of his cult was in Volsini.

------

Bolsena, or the ancient Volsinium, was one of the chief cities of the Etruscans, the people whose civilization preceded that of the Latin Romans on the Apennine Peninsula. The Etruscan states occupied the area of what was later known as Tuscany, between the Tiber and the Arno.

Near Bolsena, or Volsinium, is a lake of the same name. This lake fills a basin nine miles long, seven miles wide, and 285 feet deep. For a long time this basin was regarded as a water-filled crater of a volcano. However, it's area of 117 square kilometres exceeds by far that of the largest known craters on earth - those in the Andes in South America and those in the Hawaiian (Sandwich) Islands in the Pacific. Hence, the idea that the lake is the crater of an extinct volcano has recently been questioned. Moreover, although the bottom of the lake is of lava, and the ground around the lake abounds with ashes and lava and columns of basalt, the talus of a volcano is lacking...

Worlds In Collision. page 262-263. Immanuel Velikovsky.

Check out the site in Google Earth. Fascinating.


12 posted on 02/14/2007 5:52:21 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Read THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free pdf download. Link on my bio page.)
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