PERUGIA, ITALY—During routine restoration work at the ancient Palazzone Necropolis in Perugia, Italy workers found a mystifying funerary urn that has challenged traditional ideas about Etruscan burial customs, according to the Greek Reporter. The travertine box was discovered in a third-century b.c. hypogeum, or underground tomb, and was decorated with an ornate Medusa head carved in relief, floral motifs, and cursive Etruscan writing. In Italic-Etruscan traditions, Medusa figures were apotropaic and were believed to protect the grave’s eternal inhabitants and ward off evil spirits. The tomb belonged to the Asci family. An inscription on a lead sheet found nearby indicates that the funerary vessel contained the remains of someone perhaps named Arnθ and possibly Larθi Caprti. When researchers opened the box, however, they did not find any bones or ashes, but three neatly placed small terracotta vessels. Researchers do not know why the urn only contained these items, as such grave goods are not usually discovered in Etruscan funerary contexts. They suggest the urn may have served as a cenotaph, a symbolic burial created when the deceased’s body was either lost or buried elsewhere. To read about a fourth-century b.c. hypogeum uncovered on the island of Corsica, go to "A Funeral Fit for Etruscans."
