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warm on several counts......

 

this is from the same area ...... which may help..... or confuse ........;)

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The writing in the second picture is definitely Etruscan, which led me to the tomb of the siren in the Etruscan necropolis in Sovana, Italy.

Your question also includes when this tomb was constructed.

An exact date is apparently unknown.

The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 8, p. 491 mentions it dates from the last three-quarters of the third century BC.

Nancy Thomson de Grummond, The Religion of the Etruscans, p. 142 mentions it dates from the fourth or the third century BC.

This was a very interesting riddle, and it was a lot of fun looking for the answer.

Edited by Dirk Van der Herten
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Correct Dirk ..... and well deduced from the solitary 'clue'.... well done ! The swastika is a common etruscan symbol thought to signify 'wellbeing' or good luck.

It is a surprisingly old and widespread symbol that appears in many cultures over a very wide geographic area.

 

This was taken in the Etruscan Necropolis at Sovana at the tomb of the Siren last week. It originally had lions either side but the stone is badly weathered.

When new the carved false portico would have been plastered and painted. This is one of a line of similar but less ornate carvings that stretch a few hundred metres along this part of the cliff.....

and this is only a tiny part of a huge complex that that covers all the banks of this river valley that surrounds the village itself, which sits on a 'tufo' promontory and is regarded as one of the most beautiful in Italy.

The burial chambers are lower down the cliff at path level. Virtually all were looted for their valuables during the late Roman period.

 

This is a very interesting part of Italy (the Maremma in the far south of Tuscany) that is missed by most visitors ..... we spent 4 hours visiting dozens of similar tombs throughout the surroundings of the village and saw only 2 dutch women and 2 dogs !

In an 8 day walking holiday in this area we saw hardly anyone at all outside the towns/villages.

 

The area is crossed by 'via cava' which were sunken roads built by the Etruscans in the soft volcanic tufa between their villages and religious sites.... some more pics.... then over to you Dirk.

 

Il Cavone Via Cava

Tomba Ildebranda

Tomb Interior

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Edited by thighslapper
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Well done Dirk - I had never heard of these, thanks for the additional information.

There was another small clue pointing to Italy for the KTW series image - Thighslapper posted another Italian photograph at almost the same time!

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Thank you very much, thighslapper, for the additional information and photographs.

I had not seen this other Italian photo, Brian. The siren in thighslapper's first photo of the tomb reminded me of a boddhisatva, making me look in a completely different direction. Things became clearer after thighslapper's second photo.

 

The next question is twofold: (i) what was the original function of the building in the front of the photo and (ii) where is the building located.

 

 

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I hunted for ages on google by area and found nothing ....... then thought about searching for info on Portuguese architecture as this building is very distinctive.... and up it appeared on the wikipedia page on architectural styles in portugal ......I got lucky !!

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Where is this and what is it for ??

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