Museo Archeologico Nazionale
dell' Umbria
Early Etruscan Section
Stele from Monte Gualandro (ca. 600 BC)
This
huge sandstone funerary stele from Tuoro sul Trasimeno is carved with a
relief of two warriors in combat that possibly represents an aspect of
the funerary games held in honour of the deceased. The warriors appear
to be naked behind their circular shields, and each is armed with a
sword and a dagger.
This stele is related to another (late 7th century) from the Etruscan city of Vetulonia that is now in the Museo Archeologico, Florence).
This second stele depicts a single warrior , similarly naked behind a
circular shield but armed with a double-headed axe and wearing a Greek
helmet. It contains one of the earliest surviving funerary
inscriptions, which identifies the deceased as Avele Feluske. It also
idetifies the donor as "hirumina phersnalas", which might mean Hirumina
of Perugia.
Alfabetario di Perugia (late 6th century BC)
This
bucchero(black glazed ceramic) fragment from the rim of a vase was
found in 1970 in Viale Pompeo Pellini, near the junction with Piaggia
Colombata (see the detour to Walk II) during the construction of the nearby sports stadium. There is a series of letters along the broken edge:
- The
main part of the inscription sets out the Etruscan alphabet, using
letters from the version of the Greek alphabet that was used in
Corinth. This is in a form that is typical of those from Chamars
(Chiusi) at this period.
The last four letters are “abat”, which might mean “alphabet” or perhaps “a, b” (as in the English expression “abc” for the alphabet).
Finds from the Necropolises of Perugia
Villa Sperandio Necropolis (6th – 4th centuries BC)This necropolis was to the north of the city, just outside Porta dello Sperandio (see Walk V).
|
Sperandio Sarcophagus (6th century BC)
|
|
This
limestone sarcophagus, which was discovered in a grave that was hewn
out of the rock, contained the remains of a young man. He had been
buried with his armour, which was probably manufactured at Chamars
(Chiusi). The sarcophagus itself can be dated from others discovered at Chiusi, all of which can be dated to the 6th century BC. If this dating is correct, this sarcophagus provides the earliest evidence of a sophisticated Etruscan society in Perugia.
The scenes on the ends of the sarcophagus depict the luxurious home life of the deceased. He is seen reclining, served by slaves and entertained by a man playing the lyre.
The
relief on the front of the sarcophagus depicts a procession headed by a
young man (presumably the deceased). Three male prisoners are tied to
him by ropes around their necks. Two women and three men follow,
together with a dog wearing a collar and two asses laden with goods.
Other male characters and a small herd of goats and cattle end the
procession. This scene has been interpreted in various ways:
- it could
depict the return from a battle or a raid, as the characters' abundant
booty would suggest, or
- it could represent the migration of a family from Chamars to Perugia.
Grave goods (5th – 4th centuries BC)
The museum displays (against the left wall) two large imported red-figured vases from a hypogeum that was excavated here in 1857:
-
a wine jar (ca. 450 BC) that was used for a later burial, which is attributed to the Polygnoton Group and depicts Achilles receiving his weapons; and
an amphora (ca. 380 BC), which is attributed to the so-called Perugian Painter and depicts Dionysius and Ariadne with a maenad and a satyr.
Palazzone Necropolis (6th – 1st century BC)
The Palazzone necropolis (which can be visited) is just outside Ponte San Giovanni (a few
kilometers from Perugia), on a slope that descends to the Tiber. The
area is named for the Villa del Palazzone, which belonged to the
Baglioni family. A few Etruscan hypogea were discovered here in the
1790s. Interest increased dramatically when the amazing Ipogeo dei Volumni
was unearthed during roadworks in February 1840, and subsequent
excavations established the fact that this hypogeum was on the edge of
a large necropolis. The subsequent excavations in the 19th century
were unsystematic and the original provenance of most of the funerary
urns
and grave goods they unearthed was lost. The area was then largely
neglected until
1963, when systematic excavation revealed some 200 hypogea that were
cut into the rock. The great majority of the hypogea discovered in the necropolis belong to the Hellenistic period (4th - 1st centuries BC), although five are considerably older. Grave goods from [two] of these are exhibited in this room. |
Finds from Tomb 19 (late 6th century BC)
This hypogeum was excavated in 1963. It had been violated but the collapse of its roof had protected some of the grave goods. The most important of these was a band cup attributed to Tleson, the major potter of the so-called Little Master cups. The design depicts deer, sirens and fighting cocks.
Finds from Tomb 20 (late 6th century BC)
This hypogeum was excavated in 1963. The grace goods included a kylix attributed to the so-called Leafless Group. The design included a seated figure of Dionysius with a maenad and a satyr (typical members of the Dionysian entourage).
Ipogeo degli Acsi (late 6th or 5th century BC)
The finds also include a pair of inscribed bronze shin guards (6th
century BC) that were made in Greece and might have been taken
from the body of a Greek soldier defeated in war. The later Etruscan
inscription (early 5th century BC) on the shin guards says that Arnth Savpunius dedicated
them to Menrvas (Minerva). It is possible that the shin guards were dedicated at
Volsinii (Orvieto), and that they found their way to Perusia and more specifically to the Tombe degli Acsi after the fall of Volsinii in 264.
[A red-figured vase (330 – 310 BC) that is documented, probably inaccurately, as coming from Ipogeo degli Acsi is now in the Antiquarium del Palazzone. ]
Monteluce Necropolises (5th - 1st centuries BC)The hill of Monteluce (see Walk VI) was the site of an extensive burial ground that has been the subject of a series of excavations:
Cinerary urns from two later hypogea discovered in the vicinity are exhibited in the upper loggia of the large cloister:
|
Grave goods from predio Ara
The grave goods (4th century BC) found in 1887 beside the travertine urn of one of the warriors included his armour, and iron sword and a stand used in the wine-throwing game of kottabos.
Grave goods from Via Madonna della Riccio
An
assortment of finds from this area is displayed, including a number of
female possessions such as a bronze mirror inscribed with an image of
the Dioscuri (late 4th century BC).
Ceramic grave goods from Monteluce
These objects, which are exhibited on the right wall, comprise:
- a black-figured dish (520 – 500 BC) excavated in 1887;
- a black-figured vase (ca. 500 BC) excavated in 1937;
- a red-figured vase (ca. 475 BC) excavated in 1887 and attributed to the Mykenos Painter, which depicts the baby Hercules killing a snake;
- a red-figured vase (late 4th century BC) excavated in 1853, which depicts Hercules’ battle with the Amazons;
- a red-figured vase (late 4th century BC) excavated in 1887, which depicts Dionysius welcoming the deceased;
- a red-figured vase (late 4th century BC) excavated in 1887, which depicts a procession to the underworld.
Frontone Necropolis (4th – 3rd centuries BC)This necropolis was on the site of what is now the Giardino di Frontone (see Walk IV), extending as far as the church of San Costanzo and the Abbazia di San Pietro.
|
Grave goods from three warrior tombs (4th century BC)
A display case on the right wall contains grave goods from three hypogea that were excavated in 1840, 1887 and 1905 respectively.
The grave goods from the first of these include a pair of shin
guards (in restoration when this picture was taken) that still preserve
a fragment of an inscription that is somewhat unexpectedly in Umbrian.
The inscription reads, “tutas”, which means of the community.
Grave goods from a warrior tomb (ca. 325 BC)
 |  |
A central display cabinet contains grave goods from another of the warrior tombs that was excavated in 1887. It contained:
- a full set of armour;
- a stand used in the wine-throwing game of kottabos (illustrated to the left above); and
- a krater (5th century BC) attributed to the Niobid Painter that contained the ashes of the deceased. (This painter is named for a similar krater (ca. 460 BC) that portrays the slaughter of Niobe's children, which was found in Orvieto in 1880 and is now in the Louvre, Paris). [What scenes are depicted here ??]
Female sarcophagus (ca. 300 BC)
The
plain sarcophagus that was discovered in 1887 still contains the skeleton of a young woman.
Unfortunately, the grave goods, which included gold earrings, a mirror
and other precious possessions, are widely dispersed.
Santa Giuliana Necropolis (ca. 350 BC)The first discovery in this area behind the nunnery of Santa Giuliana, which was of the ditch grave of a warrior (4th century BC), was made in 1932. The nearby necropolis, which contained a number of broadly contemporary warrior tombs, was discovered in 1935. |
Grave goods (ca. 350 BC)
The museum displays the grave goods from three warrior tombs in the necropolis.
Ipogeo dei Praesenti (4th or 3rd century BC)A hypogeum (1st century BC) consisting of two or three small rooms was discovered in 1869 on the site of the nunnery of Santa Caterina Vecchia outside Porta Sant' Angelo. It contained four travertine urns:
The Etruscan inscriptions probably date to the early 1st century BC, just before Perugia became a Roman municipium, while those in Latin belong to the Roman period. |
Grave Goods from the Ipogeo dei Praesenti
A number of objects (3rd or 4th century BC) were found near the urn of Hastia Aemili Praesenti are exhibited here . These were much older than the hypogeum, and must have been heirlooms. The objects exhibited here (in the cabinet on the right on the back wall) are:
a mirror inscribed with figures (identified by Etruscan inscriptions) of King Tyndareus of Sparta (wrongly labeled "lamtun" or Laomedan, King of Troy), with his children Helen (on his knee) and the twins Castor and Pollux ;
a bronze lidded situla (from the Latin word for a bucket, although this one was probably intended as a funerary urn) with a figure of a siren on its lid; and
a magnificent golden earring whose twin is in the British Museum, London.
Return to the main page on the Museo Archeologico.