Free Republic

The carving on this gemstone depicts the mythological carpenter Taitle, whose name is inscribed at the bottom. Taitle is the Etruscan equivalent of Daedalus, the Greek inventor who fashioned wings for himself and his son Icarus, whose Etruscan counterpart is named Vikare. Together, father and son used the wings to escape the island of Crete, where the pair were imprisoned lest they expose the secrets of the labyrinth that Daedalus had designed."Taitle is an important figure for craftspeople, especially for the Etruscans," says archaeologist Holly Piper of the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas. Artisans frequently depicted Taitle wearing or constructing...

From myth to masterpiece, the first street car he ever built will become a legend. The curvaceous Daedalus roadster, hand-built from scratch over a span of 17 years in a two-car garage, is a one-off original design with a hand-formed aluminum body, 302-cubic-inch GMC inline six-cylinder engine, C4 Corvette suspension, Truspoke wire wheels, and custom leather interior. Inspired by European sports roadsters that ruled Sebring, Le Mans, and high-end tracks around the world in the late 50s and early 60s, owner and builder Kris Heil incorporated styling cues from Aston Martin, Jaguar, Ferrari, and Porsche without copying any particular design....