Banditaccia Necropolis
About
This vast cemetery outside ancient Caere spread stone tumulus tombs across a plateau, some over 40 meters wide, laid out with streets and blocks that mirror the plan of a living town. Carved doorways and internal chambers imitate the timber-and-thatch houses of the Etruscan world they were built to outlast. The tumuli remained a fixture of the Etrurian countryside long after Caere's political power faded under Rome.
What happened here
The dead are outside the walls because the law requires it, so the approach to every town is lined with them. Tombs face the road in rows, grand ones in front and simpler markers behind, all of them addressed to the passer-by. Burial clubs let ordinary people and slaves pay a monthly subscription for a place in a communal vault and a decent funeral; the alternative is a pit. Families come out on anniversaries and at the February festival, eat at the graveside, and pour wine into a pipe set into the ground. Undertakers, stonecutters and letter-cutters work nearby and compete on price. Ground is bought by the foot, and the frontage on the road costs the most.
Sources
Nearby
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