Secret of the ancient tomb

World museums " benefit " from illegal theft of Etruria antiquities. Currently, Italy has recognized the true value of its heritage before Rome and is working hard to protect it .

The rusty barbed wire surrounds the Etruria tombs in Cerveteri, a few brown road signs that guide the entrance to the parking lot, where a temporary café-bar serves dense espresso cups. Outside the main gate, a peddler of copies of Estrucan artefacts belongs to some of the world's most famous museums for 10 euros. The salesman excitedly introduced: " This is a miniature object, a copy of a drink from Euphronios - Greece, just like the New York Museum. And this is the wine of the Getty Museum ," he said. I have a copy of that glass in my hand, laughing: " 15 euros 2, this price is only for you ".

Deserted tombs

A bargain, maybe, but actually for only 4 euros you have a ticket to the Etruscan crypt area, where a cup of drinking cups, drinking glasses like museums and thousands of other invaluable masterpieces have been hit. stolen 40 years ago.

Although most Etruria era artifacts were stolen or still buried, there are still many Cerveteri and nearby antiquities. According to the current world map, ancient Etruria includes the regions of Lazio, northern Tuscany and a small part of western Umbria - these areas border the Arno region, the Tiber and sea tributaries. It is believed that the Etruscan people originated in Minor , Asia thanks to their language, still exist on the tombs, most of the characters are still unable to decode. Many famous antiques exhibited in world museums are made from the unique clay of Bucchero - Etruria region, to create polished black pottery, with the mysteries of these ancient inhabitants. And obviously everything from their religious beliefs to political structures - and even the use of duel warriors and robes - has a definite influence on the Roman empire.

Secret catacombs in the old, varied and old Cerveteri region, most of them have been dug and are now in a state of landslide.

Since these excavation areas have not been flooded with tourists, there is still a sense of privacy and a rare opportunity to explore the remains of ancient ruins.

Today, the former Etruria region is home to many villages, with tombs, excavations outside the town and a local museum in the center to display and store the antiquities. excavation. At the height of the excavation, museums in the vicinity of these villages such as Vulci and Veio had to function together to contain ancient artifacts, where new excavations were categorized and stored until when experts decide where to keep them in local museums or send them to more famous places, like the Villa Giulia museum - Rome.

Just across the ticket / book area in Corveteri, hundreds of Etruscan graves gradually appear under the old shade. Inside the graves, the space is quite large, many are decorated with vivid murals, depicting the wars and activities of the population. The interior of these tombs is built as a living area, many wealthy families to honor the deceased dead in stone coffins. The Etruscan bury dead bodies with bottles, stone statues, mirrors and masks to remind them of true values ​​in life.

The atmosphere in Cerveteri is silent and mysterious. Lizards crawl through abandoned paths between graves, feral cats lying on the stone wall sunbathing. During the peak tourist season, spring and summer, the city of Rome and Florence is almost overwhelmed by the amount of tourists, but the ruins here still bring a strange feeling of desolation.

Heritage advantages

The statues have unusual charm in the Veio Museum.

Italian Minister of Culture and Deputy Prime Minister Francesco Rutelli are planning to reconstruct the ancient Etruria area into a tourist attraction. Rutelli officially opened the area in September 2006, and he hoped it "could one day compete with the city of Rome" . The attractions program includes combining high-class cruise ship companies to anchor in a port near Civitavecchia - to provide recreational facilities for visitors to Etruria. The Minister of Culture is also persuading private collectors, who own Etruria treasures, to borrow versions for display in local museums.

In June, archaeologists here also discovered a painting on the wall in the Lions grave area , believing it to be one of the oldest relics in Western civilization . Rutelli said at the time the site was found: "If any country in the world has a monument like Veio, it will be of special interest. Italy has a lot of cultural heritage. art, so we have to take advantage of this ".

In the Tarquinia region, 50km north of Rome, deep inside each entrance leads to large tombs with almost intact wall paintings and bas-reliefs depicting Etruria's myths and sketches. scene of family activities. In the center, the Tarquinia museum has an ancient vase of a rare type created by Athenian Nikosthenes around the 5th century BC, and there is also a pitcher of Nikosthenes's country, Phintias. make. Winged horse statues and gold ornaments filled in the museum's chests.

At the nearby beach, a temple called Gravisca has recently been discovered. According to the steles that engraved the Greek word from 480 BC here found that this temple was used to worship the goddess Aphrodite, Hera and Demeter. Each tomb, museum and village has a separate chapter in European history and each chapter helps build a clearer view of Western civilization.

Protect antiquities

Many places in remote rural areas have been excavated indiscriminately so that some archaeologists still wonder if anything has not been found yet. Only a few places have relatively strong protection fences, most of them are simple monitoring devices, so visiting these areas often brings a feeling of loneliness and loneliness. Normally, visitors will be given a copy of the ticket at the ticket counter (plastic wrapped outside the room to prevent the rain from getting wet) and the rest is provided by visitors themselves.

Unlike other famous excavations, such as Pompeii, there is no guide here. And in particular, due to not being overwhelmed by visitors, it is a private feeling and a rare opportunity to discover ancient remains not found. You can climb graves in Cerveteri, and in Tarquinia you should try to touch the cold stone wall around the grave. In a well-protected excavation area like Cerveteri, the room contains frescoes that are protected by bars and locked, but in most of these areas you can ask the staff to open the door for you. look more closely.

Because they are not well cared for, these areas are easily stolen and stolen by thieves. Not surprisingly, some of the most valuable artifacts of Etruria culture escape Italy because of grave digging. These cases continued to rise from 1949 to the early 70s, when the Unesco organization conducted a series of programs to control illegal import and export or transfer of national cultural property rights. So far, the graves in Cerveteri, the excavation site in Tarquinia, the Vulci and Veio have all become private collections of artifacts and private museums.

Only Cerveteri alone, nearly 400 out of 550 Etrurian tombs are illegally dug . Staff of the Italian Cultural Heritage Protection Department have been searching for lost national treasures in world museums. Many important antiques have been restored and are now safely displayed at Villa Giulia Museum. Fortunately, illegal grave digging has dropped a lot, thanks to Italian police efforts, now protecting nearly 6,000 excavation sites across Italy. But the most effective deterrent is the impact from a court in Rome. The one who was in charge of the Getty Museum is Marion True and business employee Robert Hetch accused of smuggling antiques plus other Etruria-based artifacts. Another business employee involved in the trial, Giacomo Medici, was convicted.

The trial as a wake-up call for many museum managers, the City Museum of Art has agreed to return six non-transparent origin artifacts, including a worthwhile wine cup from the sixth century Euphronios. , stolen from Cerveteri graves. The Boston Museum of Art returns 13 artifacts to Italy, Cleveland Museum of Art is negotiating some artifacts in the collection they have.

Although the original artifacts may still be missing or are in American museums, the main problem is that these excavation areas are not strictly protected. Therefore, there are too many ways to steal or fake artifacts from these excavations.

Laureate