Roselle And Vetulonia – Etruscan necropoleis
The excavation site of Rusallae, once a powerful member of the Etruscan association of the twelve cities, is located at the Poggio di Muscona, 9 kilometres northeast of Grosseto. The archaeologists began their work to excavate the site in 1959, and even now you can sometimes watch them at work.
Roselle was originally surrounded by a three kilometres long and one metre high wall (using piled blocks of stone), in the 6th century B.C. Nowadays you can still find remains of this ancient wall plus paved roads, cisterns, and canals from the time of the Etruscan settlement here in Rosella.
The magnificent marble and mosaic floors, wall coverings, and the ruins of a roman mansion, are the sole ancient remains of the Romans, who conquered Roselle in 294 B.C. and developed it into a genuine metropolis by building an imperial forum, thermal baths and an amphitheatre. In the present day, the museum of archaeology in Grosseto is displaying 18 marble statues of the imperial family, which were only found in the 1960`s. All the other important discoveries are also in this museum, such as the Etruscan alphabet shell of the 6th century b. c.
Finally, Roselle became the bishop’s seat among the Langobards in the time of the High Middle Ages. In the 9th century A.D. the Aldobrandeschi built their fortress on the Etruscan and Roman ruins. Parts of the ruins, such as the fortress tower can still be recognised today, even though Roselle was almost entirely destroyed by the Saracens in 935 a. c.
After the bishops moved their seat to Grosseto in the 12th century, Roselle, over the following 400 years, slowly died, and was simply left to its own downfall. Today only the ruins of a church along with the bell tower and the font can bare witness to the once noble bishop’s residence.
The Parco Archeologico di Rosello (Roselle’s Archaeological Park) can be visited daily in summer 9 am to 7.30 pm and in winter from 9 am to 5.30 pm.
Close by Roselle, the much older Etruscan settlement, Vetluna, is located high above the Bura valley, today’s Vetulonia. Because it was rich in iron ores and amber, and had a lagoon flowing into the sea, Vetulonia was an important Etruscan town and, like Roselle, was a member of the twelve-city association. No one really knows what caused this cities downfall but it has long since been forgotten. However, compared with Roselle, barely anything remained safe in Vetulonia. Only at the end of the 19th century, a few ancient remains of the once 5 kilometres long city wall have been discovered. The three excavation sites Scavi Città, Costa dei Lippi and Costa Murata only comprise sparse remains of the Hellenistic, Etruscan and Roman era.
The most considerable witnesses of the Etruscan epoch, the “Tombe etrusche”, are located a little beyond this settlement. Three of this region’s most typical cupola tombs, heaped up with mounds, were found here. The largest Etruscan necropolis, the “Tomba della Pietrèra” of the 7th century, consists of two burial chambers, one lying upon the other. Altogether these two burial chambers measure 14 metres in height and a circumference of 210 metres. The 30 metres long passage (Dromos) leads to the dome construction and into the flanking chambers. The Tomba del Diavolino II (also built in the 7th century before Christ) has almost the same size and the impressive arch construction is almost identical. The “Tomba del Diavolino I” has been completely removed and can be, nowadays, visited in the Archaeological Museum in Florence. The tombs are open daily for visitors from 9 am to sunset, the excavation sites can be visited in summer from 10 am to 7 pm and in winter from 9 am to 6 pm.
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Titel dieser Seite: Roselle And Vetulonia – Etruscan necropoleis - Tuscany -
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Zusammenfassung dieser Seite: The excavation site of Rusallae, once a powerful member of the Etruscan association of the twelve cities, is located at the Poggio di Muscona, 9 kilometres northeast of Grosseto. The archaeologists began their work to excavate the site in 1959, and even now you can sometimes watch them at work.
