- Stephan Steingräber –
but reveal probable architectural connections with the Sardinian nuraghe (Fig. 32.3). An
early predecessor we fi nd only in Populonia toward the end of the ninth and beginning of
the eighth century bc in a much smaller size but already characterized by a circle of slabs
and a small tumulus, a single entrance, a circular chamber and a false cupola. During the
Orientalizing period in Vetulonia and Populonia the circular false cupola rests on a square
chamber. The tombs of Cortona, Castellina in Chianti and Artimino are characterized
mainly by the arrangement of rectangular chambers with corbelled vaults on a longitudinal
axis. The development of tomb architecture during the seventh and sixth centuries bc in
Southern Etruria and particularly in Cerveteri is extremely varied and interesting and was
divided by F. Prayon (1975) into six main types (A – F) according to their ground plans,
type of dromos, door and window shapes, types of roofs, ceilings and “furniture” such as
tomb beds, sarcophagus beds, benches, thrones, chairs, baskets and altars, columns, pillars,
capitals and profi le bases, and the type of tomb monument and exterior architecture. The
large tumuli of the Orientalizing period – characterized normally by a profi led base – often
contain more chamber tombs, in a few cases up to six or seven. These tombs often go back
to different periods/generations and thus have a different typology. Each tumulus belonged
to a particular family/gens (clan) and served for several generations (Figs 32.4, 32.5). The
oldest tomb in a tumulus is always oriented toward north-west, which means it is toward
the section of the underworld gods on the Etruscan celestial scale. The Regolini Galassi
Tomb and the Tomb of the Hut (or “Thatched Roof”) belong to the oldest chamber tombs
in Cerveteri with a long open dromos and the chambers in longitudinal axis. Whereas the
corbelled vault of the Regolini Galassi Tomb is built in tufa slabs, the two chambers of the
Figure 32.3 Vetulonia, model of the Diavolino Tomb 2 of Orientalizing period
(Vetulonia, Museo Archeologico).