The Etruscans

Model of an Etruscan Temple

Materials: wood (main skeleton), mud brick (walls), tufa or stone (foundation/base), terracotta (roof tiles/deco)

Archaic period

Raises platform with steps only on front. Deep front porch with columns. usually three rooms for different gods. Bright decorated roof sculptures.

Apulu (Apollo of Veii)

Terracotta

Archaic Period

Life sized statue of god apulu/Apollo. Originally stood on the roof of a temple. Stylized hair and archaic smile. Made by Etruscans, not Greeks.

Sarcophagus with reclining couple

Terracotta

Archaic Period

Shows a husband and wife lying together on a couch. Meant to hold ashes (funerary urn). Smiling and relaxed. Importance of marriage in Etruscan culture. stylized.

Tomb of the Reliefs

Carved Rock and plaster

Classical period

Underground burial chamber. Walls covered in carved and painted objects. Designed to look like a house for the dead.

Tomb of the Leopards

Cut rock, fresco paint

Archaic Period

Underground burial tomb. Banquet scene, named after painted leopards guarding the scene.

Terracotta

A type of fired clay used to make pottery, sculptures, roof tiles, and architectural decorations.

Tuscan Order

Simple style of classical architecture used in columns, developed by the Etruscans and later adopted by the Romans.

Tuff

Soft, porous volcanic stone from compacted volcanic ash. Easy to cut when first quarried but hardens over time with air.