Unraveling the Etruscan Enigma

They taught the French to make wine and the Romans to build roads, and they introduced writing to Europe, but the Etruscans have long been considered one of antiquity's great enigmas. No one knew exactly where they came from. Their language was alien to their neighbors. Their religion included the practice of divination, performed by priests who examined animals' entrails to predict the future. Much of our knowledge about Etruscan civilization comes from ancient literary sources and from tomb excavations, many of which were carried out decades ago. But all across Italy, archaeologists are now creating a much richer picture of Etruscan social structure, trade relationships, economy, daily lives, religion, and language than has ever been possible. Excavations at sites including the first monumental tomb to be explored in over two decades, a rural sanctuary filled with gold artifacts, the only Etruscan house with intact walls and construction materials still preserved, and an entire seventh-century B.C. miner's town, are revealing that the Etruscans left behind more than enough evidence to show that perhaps, they aren't such a mystery after all.

They had a goldsmithing technique that is unrivaled as well...some beautiful work in gold...

I don't agree it's "unrivaled" but it took many years for modern artisans to learn how the Etruscans did it. The technique is called "granulation" and involves affixing masses of very tiny gold spheres on golden bowls, vases, etc. to create intricate dimensional patterns.

There were two basic mysteries: how they made the spheres in such uniform sizes and how they attached them to the gold vessels without using solder of any kind. The heating methods available to them were very primitive by modern standards.

While modern goldsmiths have learned the answers and can now duplicate the process, they are still amazed the Etruscans were able to do such fine work without electronically-controlled ovens, etc. But I've seen examples of granulation work far older than Etruscan work in museums and have concluded they had merely refined a very ancient technique.

I remember reading somewhere that the riddle of the Etruscans' origin had been resolved. IIRC they were a remnant of a culture based in Anatolia that could no longer support them due to some calamity: drought, war, can't recall exactly. They were sent off by sea to find a new place to live and arrived in Italy with all their prior knowledge intact: metal smithing, civil engineering, cultural traditions, etc. I'll see if I can relocate that reference. I've been intrigued by them for years.

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