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| Beautiful view from the top of the hill |
The first thing we did when we arrived was head to the Museo Nazionale Tarquiniense. When we first stepped into the museum, I think everyone got a little bit nervous because all we saw was Italian and none of us speak the language. We very quickly realized that they made laminated sheets explaining things in English. Deep breath.
The first (among many) interesting things I learned yesterday was about the tombs. I learned that the tombs in the pictures thought this post, specifically were from the 4th and 2nd century B.C. and were excavated from one of the burial areas of Etruscan Tarquinia.
Unfortunately, by the time these tombs were excavated, they had already been looted. This basically means someone came in and stole all of the valuable things these people were buried with. You might be wondering, much like myself, why people would be buried with such valuable things? Family members places lots of things like pots, jewelry, gems, etc. into the sarcophagi (tomb) so that when the afterlife took place, they had things to start their "continued" life with.
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| Example of something someone was buried with |
A few really cool things I noticed about the outside of the sarcophagi were that they depicted different things on the outside about the person's life who was buried inside. The most frequent subject-matter was the journey of the dead to the hearafter. For example, in the one below, the man riding the horse held high civil office when he was alive because he is depicted riding a horse with musicans and a large entourage.
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| Man riding the horse with many other supporters |
In this picture, the man, Laris Pulena, is resting on two cushions with a scroll unrolled in both of his hands. The long scroll, that was almost completely gone by now, told all about the mans life. It told about posts he had in life and other activities he preformed.
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| Laris Pulena |
People are often depicted as sitting up right or lounging position because once a year the family of the deceased would visit the tomb and have a celebration for the person. They wanted the dead to feel a part of this celebration. Seems a little strange to me for an entire family to gather around a burial site and celebrate life but I guess when you really think about it, I guess being right there with the person is as close as it gets! Maybe someday someone will have a party at my grave!
Until next time!
I love that you mentioned the valuables that were placed in the tomb with the deceased individuals. First of all, it's very sad that those valuables were raided from their tombs. But its interesting to consider the belief systems of these people in that they believe that afterlife is just a continuation of life. It's a very positive way to think about death, don't you think? Imagine how amazing it would be if we could see the tombs as they were originally! Wishful thinking, right? Good post!
ReplyDeleteGood post Elli! I thought that was interesting too that whole trip in general. I also agree with you on the fact of being nervous about things were not being in English, but we had translated sheets so that was nice. I like your pictures that you have here. What one is your favorite one and why? Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteIt might seen strange that the families would have parties for the dead but if you think about it, this tradition is still alive in many cultures. The most notable is probably the Mexican holiday, The Day of the Dead. And even though we might not have a dinner party to celebrate our loved ones that have passed, we still keep pictures of them and talk about them at get together with family. I've been to many weddings that will have pictures of their loved ones that passed away handing somewhere at the wedding or will have at least a candle in their honor. We also incorporate our dead into our lives and celebrations as well. So are we really that much different from the Etruscans?
ReplyDeleteI think its kind of cool how there are stories of the person's life on the tombs. When we look back on things like this, it's hard to relate to because it seems like its from a different time period. But with the stories on the tombs It's kind of like those memorial or funeral programs that are given out at funerals today. (I'm not sure what the proper term is- but it shows like birth, death, their successors, why they were amazing, and usually has like a poem and picture on it). Thats what it kind of reminds me of, im not sure if anyone else sees it that way. I would love for my family to gather around my grave and have a celebration. I think it'd just make me feel better, knowing that they are okay and happy and of course living!
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