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THE CIVIL ENGIfsEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[Mav, 



their indolent and liixurimis masters. Tlie word ampliittieatre is 

 derived from the Greek, and sifrnifies a ])lace formed of two thea- 

 tres (ampliit/imtroi), or the parts of two circh's united, the usual 

 form beinjj an elli|)se. Tlie seats were arranired entirely round the 

 arena, so that the spectators (:o\iId see eijually well from all parts 

 of the building. It was appropriated to gladiatorial games, wild 

 beast fights, and similar s|)ectacles. 



An Etruscan amphitheatre was discovered at Sutri, by the Mar- 

 quis of Savorelli, only twelve years ago. The ground is now 

 cleared of rubbish, and the trees removed by which it was over- 

 grown. The plan is somewhat irregular, being carved out of the 

 rock, and the seats and p.-issages formed according to the natural 

 surface. The arena is 16+ feet in length, and 132 feet in its greatest 

 breadth. A vaulted corridor surrounds it, into which access is 

 gained by doors in the podium. The seats rise from the podium, 

 or low wall surrounding the arena. To continue the description 

 in the words of Mr. Dennis: "At the interval of every four or 

 five (speaking of the rows of seats), is a proecincto, or encircling 

 j)assage, for the convenience of the spectators in rebelling ther 

 seats. There are several of these pra'cinctiones, and also a broad 

 corridor above the whole, running round the upper edge of the 

 structure. On one side, above tlie u|iper corridor, rises a wall of 

 rock, with slender half-columns carved in relief on its face, and a 

 cornice above. In the same wall or cliff are several upright niches, 

 jjcrhaps for statues of presiding gods. Another peculiarity in this 

 amphitheatre is a number of recesses, about half-way up the slope 

 of seats. There are twelve in all, but three are vomitories, and 

 the rest are alcoves, slightly arched over, and containing each a 

 seat of rock, wide enough for two or three persons, probably 

 intended for the magnates of the town. At the southern end is a 

 vomitory on either side of the principal entrance ; at the northern 

 on one side only of the gateway. The vomitories have grooves or 

 channels along their walls, to carry off the water that might perco- 

 late through the porous tufa. This feature is frecpiently observed 

 in the rock-hewn sepulchres and roads of Etruria. The vomito- 

 ries contain flights of steps, separated by landing places. The 

 entrance passage is hewn into the form of a regular vault, sixteen 

 or seventeen feet high, and about the same in width : its length is 

 sixty-eight feet." This is an interesting ruin, showing us the 

 model from which the Romans copied. Of Etruscan domestic 

 architecture we know little, except from the imitation of dwelling- 

 hcuises in the tombs. Servio, in speaking of Adria, says that the 

 houses had large open vestibules, which were afterwards imitated 

 by the Romans, and by them called atrii. The atrium seems to 

 have been a kind of entrance court, with a pent or roof round it, 

 and a tank in the centre to receive the rain. The roofs of the 

 houses were covered with coloured tiles, and fancifully decorated 

 with masks and other devices. 



The same taste for tomb decoration prevailed in Etruria, as 

 amongst the nations of the East. The necropolis was usually on 

 the opposite side of a ravine, or stream of water, which separated 

 the city of the living from that of the dead. Each Etruscan city 

 had some peculiarity in its mode of sepulture, depending in a great 

 measure on the nature of the ground. Castel d' .\sso, Norchia, 

 Bieda, and Sovana, are, literally speaking, " cities of the dead ;" 

 the low cliffs on either side the roadway being sculptured into the 

 resemblance of the exterior of temples and houses. The i-ock is 

 cliiselled smooth, and the ornaments left in relief ; the doorways 

 taper inwards like the I'elasgian, and the whole front has an 

 inclination backwards, as may be seen from the jirofiles of mould- 

 ings in the drawing: the mouldings are freipiently carried round 

 the sides of the sepulchre ; where this is not the case, one tomb is 

 separated from another by a flight of steps leading to the top of 

 the cliff. In the interior, the sepulchres are generally excavated in 

 imitation of constructed dwellings ; the ceilings are carved to 

 resemble low iiitched roofs, formed with rafters placed at the angle 

 that would be necessary in a climate like Italy, where snow 

 rarely lies. In some of the rock-chaml)ers, the ceilings are divided 

 by heavy beams into square compartments or lacunariii, which are 

 decorated with painted devices. When the chamber is large, the 

 roof is supported by massive square pill irs ; at Bomazzo, there is a 

 pillar with a semicircular side facing the cntraiu^e ; the capital is 

 a square block bevelled oft' towards the shaft. The sarcophagi, on 

 which the dead recline as if at a bamiuet, are ranged along the wall : 

 when benches of rock are left to leceive the bodies, they are carved 

 into the exact resemblance of couches, with cushions and legs in 

 relief. Like the tombs of i'hrygia, numy of the d.iors are fictitious, 

 the real openings being below : like these tombs also, there are 

 instances of perpendicular chimney-like shafts, leading into the 

 diambers. At Bieda, the sepulchres are arranged in terraces, 



communicating by flights of steps ; here detached masses of rock 

 are carved in imitation of houses, with sloping roofs and over- 

 hanging eaves. .At Norchia, are two very singular temjile-like 

 fa<,ades ; cohnnns have been attached, but they are now broken 

 away ; these facades have a frieze with a triglypli-like ornament ; 

 the cornice of the (lediment terminates on each side, in a volute, 

 within whidi is a gorgon's head, a favourite sepulchral device; 

 figures are carved in bold relief in the tvmpanum. 



It is singular that in a country like Italy, abounding in artists 

 and learned societies, and traversed year after year by tourists of 

 all nations, such relics of antiquity as these cemeteries could have 

 remained undiscovered until the last half-century, though within a 

 few miles of the high road between Florence and Rome. The 

 necropolis of Sovana. no less rich in excavated tombs than those of 

 Castel d' Asso, and Norchia, was first explored by Mr. Ainsley in 

 1S43. -Most of the sejiulchres bear inscriptions in the mysterious 

 Etruscan language. 



I I I 1 I I I I, I I 



1,11. iim i II III I 'M P' 11 i 



i ..^ii:hiiffl!iiiii; JBiByaiMi 



Tumulus at Tarquinii, restored. 



In other parts of P^truria, the form of sepulchre was that of a 

 cone or tumulus ; these were formed by a low circular wall of 

 masonry, in which were the entrance doors, and surmounted by a 

 cone of earth ; the apex was occupied by a figure of a sphinx, and 

 similar figures were ranged along the coping of the wall. The 

 tumulus inclosed several tombs, that of the lucumo, or chief 

 person, being in the central and highest part ofthe cone. This 

 form of sepulchre prevailed at Tarquinii : the necropolis of this 

 city occupied an extent of sixteen miles; 2000 tombs have 

 already been opened, and a rich store of vases, bronze, and gold 

 H ork, and other curiosities brought to light. In the palmy days 

 of Etruria, the corpse was laid in a carved sarcophagus. Numa 

 Pompilius left directions, " that his body should not be burnt, but 

 should be laid in a stone coflin, after the manner of the Etruscans." 

 In still more ancient times it was tlie custom to lay the dead on a 

 bier, or funeral bed, clad in arnuuir or robes of state. 



Mrs. Hamilton Gray, the accomplished authoress of the 'Tour 

 to the Sepulchres of Etruria,' gives the following account of the 

 opening of a Tarquinian tomb: — "In the year 1826, Carlo .'Vvolto, of 

 Corneto, had a most unexpected glimpse of a Tarquinian lucumo. 

 On removing a few stones from the upper part of a sepulchre, he 

 looked thnuigh the aperture to discover the contents, and behold, 

 extended in state, before him lay one of the mighty men of old. 

 He saw him crowned with gold, and cliithed in arnuuir; his shield, 

 spear, and arrows were by his side, and the warrior's sleep'seemed 

 rattier to be of yesterday, than to have endured well nigh thirty 

 centuries. But a sudden change came over the scene, and startled 

 Avolta from his astonished contemplation: a slight tremor, like 

 that of sand in an hour-glass, seemed to agitate the figure, and in 

 a few minutes it vanished into air, and disappeared. When he 

 entered the tomb, the golden crown, some fragments of arms, and 

 a few handsful of dust, w ere all that marked the last resting-place 

 of this Tarquinian chief." 



According to Mr. Dennis, the painted Etruscan tombs only aver- 

 age about one in five hundred ; a sufficient number, however, exist 

 to enable us to trace the progress of Etruscan art, from the stiff 

 and ludicrously disproportionate figures of the early ages, to the 

 exquisite grace' and sentiment ofthe most cultivated period. It is 

 a question much discussed, whether the Etruscans copied their art 



