Archaeologists Opened a 2,600-Year-Old Tomb—and Found 4 People Who Time Forgot

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A team of archaeologists scouring central Italy uncovered a fully intact Etruscan chamber tomb.
The sealed chamber is likely around 2,600 years old and contains more than 100 grave goods.
Bronze ornaments and delicate silver hair spools are highlights of the find.

A rare discovery of a fully sealed Etruscan chamber tomb in Italy came with a bonus: more than 100 grave goods from the seventh century B.C.

Located at San Giuliano—about 43 miles northwest of Rome in the hilly region of central Italy—a team of archeologists working on the San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project called the discovery one of the most significant finds in recent decades related to our understanding pre-Roman civilization, according to a statement from Baylor University.

“This completely sealed burial chamber represents a rare find for Etruscan archaeology,” Davide Zori, a professor of history and archaeology at Baylor and a principal investigator on the project, said in a statement. He added that a “preserved chamber tomb of this age has never before been excavated with modern archaeological techniques” in the region.

Once the team entered the 2,600-year-old undisturbed tomb, they found four skeletons on carved stone beds surrounded by more than 100 well-preserved grave goods, including ceramic vases, iron weapons, bronze ornaments, and delicate silver hair spools.

The research project has been active in the region since 2016, uncovering over 600 tombs in the necropolis surrounding the Etruscan town, which sits atop the San Giuliano Plateau. So far, though, every other chamber tomb—defined as a tomb carved out of the rock into the shape of a small house with a pitched roof—had been previously looted. Some had been emptied of their valuables as early as the start of Roman occupation in the late third century B.C.

Inside the sealed tomb, preliminary analysis suggests the four individuals buried there could be two male-female pairs, but the researchers await more conclusive results. “The SGARP team has completed the excavation of the tomb, but the study and analysis of the archaeological data yielded by this incredible discovery is just beginning,” Zori said.

The research project is a collaboration between a Baylor-led consortium of universities and Virgil Academy in Rome in partnership with the town of Barbarano Romano. The program aims to reconstruct the long-term changes in the human occupation of the plateau and surrounding hills.

The team believes that the hundreds of rock-cut Etruscan tombs encircling the plateau were likely associated with the town. “SGARP seeks to investigate the Etruscan occupation and understand the transitions that followed, including incorporation into the Roman Empire, transformation into a medieval castle, and the final abandonment of the site sometime before 1300 A.D.,” according to a project statement.

Along the way, Baylor students remain intertwined in the process. “Being part of a project that uncovered an unlooted tomb was extremely surreal,” Kendall Peterson, a senior anthropology major from San Antonio, said in a statement. “It is something that archaeologists hope for their entire careers, and it was incredibly emotional to witness not only our professors’ reactions but also the pride and excitement of the local community of Barbarano. It reminded me that we aren’t just studying artifacts, we’re contributing to a shared cultural heritage that still deeply matters to the people who live there today.”

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