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The Etruscan Necropolis of Crocifisso di Tufo

This photo shows about a quarter of the Etruscan cemetery.

This necropolis of the 4th century B.C. lies at the foot of the butte of Orvieto: somewhat larger than a football field, it is quite well preserved. Some careful restoration has been undertaken: caved-in roofs have been reërected, for example. It's a real city of the dead, in which the chamber tombs, small aboveground more or less cubical houselike structures, face neatly onto perpendicularly intersecting streets.

These are two of several short inscriptions on the lintels of the chamber tomb doors. It is a mystery to me why they should be so sharp 24 centuries after they were carved in tufa — one of the softest of stones — but they are: anyone with an elementary knowledge of Etruscan can read them easily.

Some of the tombs still contain stone sarcophagi or, more commonly, stone benches. The chambers are quite small, about 6 or 8 feet on a side at most; you will need a wide-angle lens to photograph them better than this:

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