DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.786#0062
46
CERVETRI.
[chap, xxxiii.
walls. It is said to have been inclosed in a tumulus, but
the mound was so large, and its top has been so broken by
frequent excavations, and levellings of the soil for agri-
cultural purposes, that its existence is now mere matter of
history.
The sepulchre opens in a low bank in the middle of a
field. The pecu-
liarity of its con- ^^
struction is evident ^ ^^^feSSsSESiiS
at a glance. It is
a rude attempt at
an arch, formed by
the convergence of
horizontal strata,
hewn to a smooth
surface, and slightly
curved, so as to re-
semble a Gothic
arch. This is not,
however, carried up to a point, but terminates in a
square channel, covered by a large block of nenfro. The
doorway is the index to the whole tomb, which is a
mere passage, about sixty feet long, constructed on the
same principle, and fined with masonry.4 This passage
is divided into two parts or chambers, communicating by
a doorway of the same Gothic form, with a truncated top.5
MOUTH OF THE REGULINI-GALASSI TOMB.
4 The masonry is of rectangular blocks
of nenfro, in the outer chamber about 18
inches long, in courses from 12 to 15
inches deep ; but in the inner, of more
massive dimensions.
5 The outer chamber is 33 feet, the
inner 24J feet long, and the thickness of
the partition-wall, 3 feet ; making the en-
tire length 60£ feet. The inner doorway
is 6i feet high and 4£ wide at the bottom,
narrowing upward to 1 foot at the top.
Similar passage-tombs have been found
elsewhere in this necropolis, especially in
that part called Zambra (Bull. Inst.
1840, p. 133), as well as at Palo and
Selva la Rocca.
Tombs of this passage-form are gene-
rally of high antiquity. These bear an
evident relation to the Treasuries of
Mycenae and Orchomenos, and to the
CERVETRI.
[chap, xxxiii.
walls. It is said to have been inclosed in a tumulus, but
the mound was so large, and its top has been so broken by
frequent excavations, and levellings of the soil for agri-
cultural purposes, that its existence is now mere matter of
history.
The sepulchre opens in a low bank in the middle of a
field. The pecu-
liarity of its con- ^^
struction is evident ^ ^^^feSSsSESiiS
at a glance. It is
a rude attempt at
an arch, formed by
the convergence of
horizontal strata,
hewn to a smooth
surface, and slightly
curved, so as to re-
semble a Gothic
arch. This is not,
however, carried up to a point, but terminates in a
square channel, covered by a large block of nenfro. The
doorway is the index to the whole tomb, which is a
mere passage, about sixty feet long, constructed on the
same principle, and fined with masonry.4 This passage
is divided into two parts or chambers, communicating by
a doorway of the same Gothic form, with a truncated top.5
MOUTH OF THE REGULINI-GALASSI TOMB.
4 The masonry is of rectangular blocks
of nenfro, in the outer chamber about 18
inches long, in courses from 12 to 15
inches deep ; but in the inner, of more
massive dimensions.
5 The outer chamber is 33 feet, the
inner 24J feet long, and the thickness of
the partition-wall, 3 feet ; making the en-
tire length 60£ feet. The inner doorway
is 6i feet high and 4£ wide at the bottom,
narrowing upward to 1 foot at the top.
Similar passage-tombs have been found
elsewhere in this necropolis, especially in
that part called Zambra (Bull. Inst.
1840, p. 133), as well as at Palo and
Selva la Rocca.
Tombs of this passage-form are gene-
rally of high antiquity. These bear an
evident relation to the Treasuries of
Mycenae and Orchomenos, and to the