Hundreds Of Burials Discovered In Northern Lazio, The Home Of The Etruscan Civilization – Digitized
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Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – The University of Gothenburg’s project aims to digitize hundreds of burials discovered in northern Lazio, the home of the Etruscan civilization. We’ll have a great opportunity to explore the Etruscan tombs directly from home using a digital window.
Etruscan painting. Image credit: Public domain – Wikimedia Commons
A group of Swedish researchers has digitized nearly 280 chamber Etruscan tombs located in the Viterbo Province, and this initiative is led by the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish Institute of Rome. The Swedish team utilized several technological resources, including photogrammetry, laser scanning, 3D modeling, and an interactive interface, to explore different burials.
The excavations were supported by the development of “Etruscan Chamber Tombs”, a virtual reality-based system that want to allow users to admire the Etruscan tombs from home. These funeral places are often difficult to access due to narrow passages and debris that surround them.
Additionally, there is also the risk posed by any structural collapses, and these landmarks are located far from public roads and often require crawling through collapsed passages and thick dust.
“We are never the first to visit these places—they have been used by shepherds and farmers and recorded by archaeologists for more than a hundred years. Yet it sometimes feels as if time has stood still, and that we are intruding on a lasting silence,” says Jonathan Westin, research engineer at the University of Gothenburg.
Westin has himself worked hard to squeeze through narrow openings and crawled along dark passageways to document several tombs around San Giovenale in Italy.
Hampus Olsson, researcher at the Swedish Institute in Rome. Credit: Jonathan Westin
The first collection of data, which includes the necropolis around St. Juvenal, is the result of the thesis “The Chamber Tombs of San Giovenale and the Funerary Landscapes of South Etruria”, written by researcher Fredrik Tobin-Dodd. The goal of the system, which provides descriptions, images, plants and 3D models, is to facilitate the work of academics and young students.
The research project is a continuation of the Swedish Institute of Rome’s long-standing tradition, which was established in 1925.
The institute was notably active after World War II, conducting excavation campaigns funded by King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden. An enthusiast of the ancient world and archaeology, King Gustav VI Adolf actively contributed to scientific activities until 1973. Starting in 2026, a portal developed through studies on Etruscan tombs will be incorporated into university courses in Rome.
Image credit: Jonathan Westin
The goal is to provide students with practical training in 3D scanning and digital publishing techniques.
According to Westin, the 3D scans allow people who have never been able to travel to these sites or descend into the chambers to both experience them and extract new data for the first time.
Before Rome’s expansion, the Etruscans resided beyond the Tiber, according to many Latin authors, and they serve as a significant model for the later development of Roman civilization.
Long before Rome embraced Hellenistic influences, the Etruscans were pivotal to its early monarchy, providing rulers from Etruria on several occasions—the Tarquini. The research conducted by the Gothenburg researchers is of great importance for further studies of the complexities of Etruscan mysterious history, highlighting their crucial role among Italy’s ancient peoples.
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
