Orvieto Hotel Kristall

Etruscan Necropolis

The Necropolis of the Tuff Crucifix rises on the northwest side of the city and it is name after a cross that was carved in the tuff inside a cliff side chapel. It can be dated around the VI century B.C., period of great prosperity for the ancient Velzna. The first excavations date back to the beginning of the 1800s; during this first phase a conspicuous part of the treasures found in the graves were taken and moved to the most important European museums.
From then on the operations continued, but it was only in the 1960s that the most significant digs took place, the ones that brought to the light the most ancient tombs. They respond to the criterion of evenness and uniformity that reflect a strong spiritual need of the Etruscans: equality. For the Etruscans the worship of the dead had great importance, as they believed that the deceased retained their own individuality in conjunction with their mortal remains; thus, next to the corpse was placed the burial gifts. You can find the Necropolis of the Crucifix Tufo few kilometers before entering into Orvieto.