Ipogeo di Poggio Gaiella Chiusi

It’s the only burial ground in Chiusi, that has survived among the eight burials known. It’s the largest one in all Etruria; recent diggings have revealed that half of it, is artificial, that is, it’s been readjusted to follow a natural relief, whereas the upper part of the hill is made up of filling ground. The tombs are dug at different levels in the lower part, that is made up of a condensed sand bank alternated to a clay conglomeration, typical of this area. New information, deriving from the most recent discoveries, testifies the existence, in the area of the mound or very close nearby, of a settlement from the recent Bronze Age; the most ancient one discovered in the immediate surroundings of Chiusi. The mound was surrounded by a circular structure, 1.50 meters high, originally covered with travertine from Sarteano, walled up dry; later, completely removed to build adjacent dwellings. One could enter the tomb through a passage, 10 meters long, on the side of which there were two partition tombs, also dated late VIIth century. Through the tomb on the left side one could enter a series of at least fourteen small rooms ( probably used for burial) placed on two files along side of the hill and inter communicating through short corridors; inside which materials, dated Oriental and Archaic Ages , have been found. These tombs, that partially preserve the panelled ceiling decoration with traces of red paint and platforms carved and shaped as funerary beds, are probably dated first half of the Vth century B.C. basing this date on the comparison with the two painted tombs of the Monkey and of the Hill.