Posted on 07/09/2008 9:46:57 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
An ancient Etruscan tomb has resurfaced after centuries underground during the course of building work in the central Italian city of Perugia.
The tomb, which has been preserved in excellent condition, contains seven funerary urns, the municipal archaeology department said. It is in the shape of a square and was covered by a sheet of travertine marble, which had apparently remained untouched since being laid centuries ago. The tomb is split into two halves by a pillar and there are two benches running along each side. The funerary urns, which were placed on the benches, were marked with brightly coloured mythological and religious motifs. A preliminary study suggests that writing on the side of the urns probably refers to a family that was called the Aneis. In addition to the urns, the tomb also housed the remains of a bronze bed and various pottery shards. The site was discovered during digging work for a new roundabout in the Strassacapponi neighbourhood on the outskirts of the Umbrian town...
Most of what we know about their civilisation is based largely on archaeological finds, since much of their language has yet to be deciphered.
(Excerpt) Read more at ansa.it ...
DNA Boosts Herodotus’ Account of Etruscans as Migrants to Italy
NY Times | April 3, 2007 | NICHOLAS WADE
Posted on 04/03/2007 9:27:29 PM PDT by neverdem
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1811652/posts
Tuscany’s Etruscan Claim Knocked
ANSA | 5-16-2006
Posted on 05/16/2006 11:30:01 AM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1633215/posts
It’s actually more than Vergil. His tale was the written exposition of claims from some Romans that they derived in direct line from Aeneas.
Once again, they could be simply inventing ancestors, but the tale was certainly in play among the Romans and the Etruscans.
By the way, didn’t we have a link/thread on the Etruscan claim to be the survivors of Troy?
I don’t think the DNA issue is all that surprising. The Etruscans backed Marius in his civil war with Sulla and found themselves on the pointy end of Sulla’s proscriptions. Enough of them were probably killed off and replaced by Romans and other Italian people, thus deluding their DNA over the next 2,000 years.
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