Tomba degli Auguri

Phersu on the run

The Tomba degli Auguri (German: Tomb of the Augurs ) is a painted Etruscan tomb in the Monterozzi necropolis of Tarquinia in Latium . The grave was discovered in 1878. The grave consists primarily of the burial chamber that was found robbed with a sloping corridor leading to the entrance. In the floor of the chamber there are still the imprints of eight legs from two death beds.

The ceiling of the tomb is gable-shaped with a red, painted beam in the middle. The rest of the ceiling is decorated with red and black flowers. A large door is painted on the back wall of the burial chamber. To the left and right of the door stands a bearded man in mourning. There are inscriptions in each case. The right wall shows funeral games. In the middle you can see two naked wrestlers. To their left is the referee and behind him the referee. On the far left you can see two children. On the far right you can see a man called Phersu and another who is attacked by a dog. He bit into the thigh of the man who is bleeding. The man wears a cap over his face so that he cannot see what is happening to him. Such scenes are also known from other graves and they seem to be forerunners of the gladiatorial games . The Phersu is shown again on the left wall, where he is on the run from further funeral games, which are, however, very destroyed. The scenes on the entrance wall are also very damaged. After the few remains, rope pullers seem to have been shown here.

The grave dates to the second half of the sixth century BC. It belongs to the archaic style of Etruscan painting and is one of the most important examples of this style.

The decorations of the Tomba degli Auguri, Tomba delle Olimpiadi , Tomba delle Iscrizioni , Tomba del Morto , Tomba Tarantola and Tomba 5898 may have been painted by the same workshop.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Stephan Steingräber : Abundance of Life, Etruscan Wall Painting , Los Angeles 2006, ISBN 978-0-89236-865-5 , pp. 71, 92

literature

• Giovanni Becatti , Filippo Magi : Tarquinii. Le pitture delle tombe degli Auguri e del Pulcinella. Istituto poligrafico dello Stato, Rome 1956.
• Mario Moretti , Leonard von Matt : Etruscan painting in Tarquinia . DuMont Schauberg, Cologne 1974, ISBN 3-7701-0541-9 , pp. 34–38 Fig. 12–18.

Web links

Commons : Tomba degli Auguri  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Tomba degli Auguri (Italian)

Coordinates: 42 ° 14 ′ 17.4 ″  N , 11 ° 47 ′ 41 ″  E