Behind the Grave Mound. Comments about the podium- altar and the cremations of the Doganaccia necropolis

Abstract

The excavation of the area behind the Tumulo della Regina, in the Doganaccia burial ground, has brought to light the ruins of an altar-podium related to the Orientalizing burial mound. Analysis of archaeological traces and of stone fragments has revealed an original structure made out of blocks, with mould-made relief decorations as well as statues of wild felines and mythological animals. Nearby, a group of cremation tombs, placed inside pit graves or stone cases, are correlated to the archaic graveyard located behind the burial mound, the extension of which is yet to be determined. The preliminary presentation of these cremations serves as an occasion to reflect, once again, on the relation between rituals and transformation of the funerary landscape in archaic Tarquinia.