Monte Abatone conservation reveals carved thrones and painted tomb walls
Emergency conservation at Monte Abatone in Cerveteri, Italy, has uncovered burial chambers with rock-cut furnishings and surviving wall paint. Work followed the collapse of several tombs in the Etruscan cemetery. A nearly intact decorated vessel escaped earlier looting and is to be cleaned and restored before public display.
Arts··Midday
Collapsed tombs prompted emergency work
At Monte Abatone, an Etruscan cemetery in Cerveteri, Italy, conservation teams have found painted walls, rock-cut thrones and a decorated vessel. Several tombs had collapsed before the emergency work began. Archaeologists were brought in to stabilize the structures and document their condition.[1], [2]
Blocked entrances were reopened and accumulated fill was removed from the interiors. During that work, a group of burial chambers that had not previously been documented became accessible.[1]
A vaulted ceiling and traces of red paint survive
One chamber retains much of its original vaulted ceiling. Another contains funerary furnishings, including seats resembling thrones, carved directly into the natural rock. A third preserves traces of red wall paint. Monte Abatone was a principal burial ground of ancient Caere, northwest of Rome; the city’s cemeteries contain thousands of tombs associated with Etruscan society and religious beliefs.[1]
A decorated vessel escaped the looters
All the examined tombs had been looted in the past. A nearly complete jar nevertheless survived, with engraved figures including animals and patches of red paint. Its form resembles a Greek stamnos, a type of vessel. Authorities plan to clean and restore the object before putting it on public display.[1]
