The Etruscans
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Etruscan cities
The foundation of cities was regulated by religious practices laid down in Ritual Books. It was obligatory to surround a city by a sacred boundary (pomerium). It is possible that the later Roman grid-system was influenced by Etruscan town-planning. Etruscan cities appear to have had two main streets, which is a feature common in Greek cities from the west after c.500 BC. Their temples were squarer than Geek ones. They had stone foundations but wooden superstructures. Houses were made of mud-brick with timber laid on stone foundations and rectangular in design. Cemeteries evolved from pits into family tombs, which were laid out in rows of streets resembling "cities of the dead" (neocropolis). The cemeteries at Caere are a fine example. These family tombs were equipped with furniture and luxuries. The city of Marzabotto, which was abandoned around 400 BC when it was overrun by the Gauls, gives us an indication of their town planning. It was based on a gridiron pattern of a standardized type.
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Contents of
The Etruscans
1 The Villanovan culture
2 The origin of the Etruscans
3 Etruscan economy and culture
4 Etruscan cities
5 Etruscan art and philosophy
6 Etruscan haruspicy
7 Greek colonization in Italy
8 Foundation of Cumae
9 International relations of Etruria
10 Internal politics of Etruscan cities
11 Etruscan monarchy in Rome
12 Rome and the Etruscans
13 The effect of Etruscan rule on Rome
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