The Necropolis

 necropolis, archaeological site, UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Monterozzi hill, about 6 km long and centre of the main Tarquinian necropolis, stretches out parallel to the coast, between this and the La Civita height where the Etruscan city was. The western end of the hill is now occupied by the medieval (Corneto) and modern town.
Of the two long sides, the south-western one slopes gently towards the sea, while the side facing the valley of the St. Savino and La Civita has high crags broken by deep gaps through which were passing the ancient routes connecting the town and the necropolis.
Each of these gaps is now crossed by the arches of the eighteenth century aqueduct that in these areas takes the names of Primi Archi, Arcatelle e Secondi Archi.

The tombs cover practically the whole hill. We know more than six thousand of them, mostly chambers dug into the rock and surmounted by mounds. These mounds, today barely visible on the ground because of the agricultural works (but only a century ago Dennis, an English traveller, counted more than 600 of them), gave to the hill its popular and expressive name.

Besides the princely mounds, the extraordinary series of painted tombs - we know around 200 of them - represent the prestigious core of the necropolis which is, for this aspect, the most important one in the Mediterranean.
The phenomenon of tomb painting, although in almost all cases is documented on the Monterozzi hill, the main town necropolis, is not however unknown in other minor necropolis.

(from M. Cataldi, Tarquinia, Regione Lazio 1993)

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