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 Etrurias 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.
GGG Ping.
I kinda pictured a vase sitting at the hub ... I wonder why?
I kinda pictured a vase sitting at the hub ... I wonder why?
What does an etruscan earn?
I never knew it was missing!
I think it's on display in Lost Wages.
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
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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.
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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.
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