Tomb of the Ship

mid-5th century BC

Discovered in 1958 at the ‘Secondi Archi’ site, the paintings were detached in the same year as their discovery. The tomb consists of a single rectangular room with a double-sloped ceiling.
On the back wall, four couples of banqueters are depicted reclining on the richly decorated klinai, served by naked cupbearers.
Musicians and dancers animate the banquet, which takes place outdoors as suggested by the trees.
On the left wall, a cargo sailing ship with two masts (which gives the tomb its name) and a smaller single-masted ship, surrounded by small boats, are depicted in a marine landscape closed by high rocks.
On the right of the scene, the owner of the tomb is depicted watching the ships.
The representation of a cargo ship and a port is unique in Tarquinian Etruscan painting.

The Etruscan Tombs

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