Date:

Sacred monumental building of the Etruscans discovered in Vulci

Archaeologists from the universities of Freiburg and Mainz have identified a sacred monumental building of the Etruscans near the Tempio Grande in Vulci, Italy.

The Etruscans were an ancient Italic people, considered one of the first great civilisations on the peninsula of Italy that influenced the developing Roman culture.

The Etruscans emerged around 900 BC and established three confederacies of cities, until they were succeeded by the rising Roman Kingdom that spread to dominate the region in the 5th and 4th century BC.

An interdisciplinary team found a large, monumental building, roughly the same size and alignment as the neighbouring Tempio Grande, measuring 45 metres by 35 metres and dates from the end of the sixth or beginning of the fifth century BC.

- Advertisement -
vulci2
Image Credit : Mariachiara Franceschini

The temple was first identified during a survey using geophysical prospecting and Ground Penetrating Radar over an area of 3.5 acres to in the northern area of Vulci.

The survey is part of the Vulci Cityscape project, which was launched in 2020 and aimed to research the settlement strategies and urbanistic structures of the city of Vulci. Vulci was one of the twelve cities of the Etruscan federation, and in pre-Roman times was one of the most important urban centres in what is now Italy.

Paul P. Pasieka of the University of Mainz said: “We discovered remains from the city’s origins that had previously been overlooked in Vulci and are now better able to understand the dynamics of settlement and the road system, besides identifying different functional areas in the city.”

“Our knowledge about the appearance and organisation of Etruscan cities has been limited until now,” says Dr. Mariachiara Franceschini of the University of Freiburg. “The intact strata of the temple are offering us insights into more than a thousand years of development of one of the most important Etruscan cities.”

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Header Image : The view from above shows the position of the newly discovered temple next to the Tempio Grande. Image Credit : Mariachiara Franceschini

 

- Advertisement -
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is an award winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 7,500 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education and the BCA Medal of Honour.

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

Inca quarries and road network found in Cañete

Archaeologists have discovered Inca quarries and a road network in Cerros de Quilmaná and Cerro Quinta Freno, in the province of Cañete, Peru.

Prison bakery for enslaved people found in Roman Pompeii

Archaeologists have uncovered a Prison bakery during recent excavations in Pompeii.

Baboons in Ancient Egypt were raised in captivity before being mummified

In a new study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, researchers examined a collection of baboon mummies from the ancient Egyptian site of Gabbanat el-Qurud, the so-called Valley of the Monkeys on the west bank of Luxor.

Archaeologists find 22 mummified burials in Peru

A Polish-Peruvian team of archaeologists have uncovered 22 mummified burials in Barranca, Peru.

Oldest prehistoric fortress found in remote Siberia

An international team, led by archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin has uncovered an ancient prehistoric fortress in a remote region of Siberia known as Amnya.

Top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2023

The field of archaeology has been continuously evolving in 2023, making significant strides in uncovering new historical findings, preserving cultural heritage, and employing innovative technologies to study the past.

War in Ukraine sees destruction of cultural heritage not witnessed since WW2

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has resulted in a significant loss of human lives and the national and international displacement of many Ukrainian people.

Archaeologists find five Bronze Age axes in the forests of Kociewie

According to an announcement by the Pomeranian Provincial Conservator of Monuments, archaeologists have discovered five Bronze Age axes in Starogard Forest District, located in Kociewie, Poland.