DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.785#0374
UHAP. XVII.
MOULDED DOOR AT
BIEDA.
not ornamental, its simplicity and massiveness made it very
imposing. It is shown above, in fig. 3.
The moulded door, which frequently occurs
on the facades, is in no instance like those
of Castel d'Asso and Norchia, but inva-
riably as in the annexed wood-cut. In
most instances this is a mere moulding, or
pseudo-door; in others, a real one; in
others again it forms a framework to a small niche, which .
must have contained an urn or vase, probably with the
ashes of the deceased.
These door-mouldings are very common in Etruria. On
some sites, Cervetri, Toscanella, Vulci, and Chiusi, for
instance, they are found, not on the face of cliffs as here,
but on the entrances to sepulchres, many feet below the
surface ; and sometimes within the tombs themselves. They
are also often found on cinerary urns, of house or temple
shape. The form is very like Doric, particularly as it is
seen at Bieda; it is found also in Greek monuments of
Italy and Sicily,7 but whether of Greek or Etruscan origin,
is not easy to determine. Whether it be the represen-
tation of the ordinary door, or a mere sepulchral orna-
ment, with or without a symbolical meaning, has been
questioned. I have no doubt of the former, not only
because it is found on urns and tombs which are evident
representations of houses, but on account of the high
7 At Cefalu, the ancient Cephalsedium,
in Sicily (vide Mon. Ined. dell' Instit.
torn. I. tav. 29, and Ann. Inst. 1831, p.
270—287, Dr. Nott), where it is found
in connection with Cyclopean masonry,-—
and at Canosa, the ancient Canusium, in
Apulia, in a tomb of four chambers
in every respect extremely like the
Etruscan, discovered in 1828. The
architrave, however, is by no means
so heavy in this as in the Etruscan
tombs, but more like the Doric. This
tomb is remarkable for having two
false windows painted on one wall—on
each side a doorway. Ann. Inst. 1832,
p. 285—9, and Mon. Ined. Inst. I. tav.
XLIII. Real windows so situated are
not uncommon in Etruscan tombs,
and occur most frequently at Cervetri,
Bieda, and Chiusi.
MOULDED DOOR AT
BIEDA.
not ornamental, its simplicity and massiveness made it very
imposing. It is shown above, in fig. 3.
The moulded door, which frequently occurs
on the facades, is in no instance like those
of Castel d'Asso and Norchia, but inva-
riably as in the annexed wood-cut. In
most instances this is a mere moulding, or
pseudo-door; in others, a real one; in
others again it forms a framework to a small niche, which .
must have contained an urn or vase, probably with the
ashes of the deceased.
These door-mouldings are very common in Etruria. On
some sites, Cervetri, Toscanella, Vulci, and Chiusi, for
instance, they are found, not on the face of cliffs as here,
but on the entrances to sepulchres, many feet below the
surface ; and sometimes within the tombs themselves. They
are also often found on cinerary urns, of house or temple
shape. The form is very like Doric, particularly as it is
seen at Bieda; it is found also in Greek monuments of
Italy and Sicily,7 but whether of Greek or Etruscan origin,
is not easy to determine. Whether it be the represen-
tation of the ordinary door, or a mere sepulchral orna-
ment, with or without a symbolical meaning, has been
questioned. I have no doubt of the former, not only
because it is found on urns and tombs which are evident
representations of houses, but on account of the high
7 At Cefalu, the ancient Cephalsedium,
in Sicily (vide Mon. Ined. dell' Instit.
torn. I. tav. 29, and Ann. Inst. 1831, p.
270—287, Dr. Nott), where it is found
in connection with Cyclopean masonry,-—
and at Canosa, the ancient Canusium, in
Apulia, in a tomb of four chambers
in every respect extremely like the
Etruscan, discovered in 1828. The
architrave, however, is by no means
so heavy in this as in the Etruscan
tombs, but more like the Doric. This
tomb is remarkable for having two
false windows painted on one wall—on
each side a doorway. Ann. Inst. 1832,
p. 285—9, and Mon. Ined. Inst. I. tav.
XLIII. Real windows so situated are
not uncommon in Etruscan tombs,
and occur most frequently at Cervetri,
Bieda, and Chiusi.