Bearded man and dancing woman. Detail of wall painting in the 2,500-year-old Etruscan Tomb of the Bacchants, or Tomba dei Baccanti, in the Monterozzi necropolis of the ancient city of Tarchuna or Tarchna, now Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy. The burial chamber dates from 510 to 500 BC.
Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy: this bearded man and a dancing woman, depicted by a Greek or Oriental artist, probably represent the Etruscan aristocrat and his wife who commissioned the 2,500-year-old Tomb of the Bacchants or Tomba dei Baccanti in the Monterozzi necropolis of the ancient city of Tarchuna or Tarchna. The frescoed single burial chamber dates from 510 to 500 BC and was discovered in 1874. The tomb takes its name from the orgiastic scenes painted on the walls, which are probably related to the cult of the ancient Greek god of wine, fertility and ritual ecstasy, Dionysus, known to the Romans as Bacchus. Drunken men and women hold wine cups as they dance and sing, accompanied by musicians, in a green leaved grove in the afterlife. The Tomb of the Bacchants is among about 200 out of more than 6,000 burial chambers and graves in the necropolis decorated with frescoes. Most were reserved for Tarchuna’s aristocrats or nobles. The tomb paintings offer an unrivalled view of Etruscan life, with the artists depicting athletes, hunters, funeral rites, mythical scenes and banquets. The necropolis, first used in the 7th century BC, gained World Heritage Site status in 2004. UNESCO rates its frescoes as among the best examples of pre-Roman art in the western Mediterranean. It comments: “Tarquinia's large-scale wall paintings are exceptional both for their formal qualities and for their content, which reveal aspects of life, death, and religious beliefs of the ancient Etruscans … the depiction of daily life in the frescoed tombs, many of which are replicas of Etruscan houses, is a unique testimony to this vanished culture.”
Size: 3546px × 2356px
Location: Monterozzi Necropolis, Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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