The tomb is composed of a rectangular pit situated within
a circle of stones embedded in the ground.
The three individuals interred inside were buried with rich funerary fittings that included fragments of a war chariot, a shield and iron spears.
From the designs made at the time of the discovery, it would seem that the central section can be related to a high-ranking personage, since the remains of the chariot and shield were arranged at his head and feet, whereas the spears were alongside another skeleton on his left.
On exhibit in the Museum of Archeology and Art of Maremma in Grosseto since March 1999, these burial fittings include some precious objects, collected inside a bronze basin, placed in an isolated corner of the pit. The tomb owes its name to the very valuable circle of ivories; one stands out in particular from amongst them: the scriptorium, composed of a small board with the alphabet engraved in the upper margin, styli and scrapers (used for etching and “cancelling” the signs written on the layer of wax that was spread on the board). In addition, there is a pyx with a grip on the cover in the shape of a lotus flower and decorated with figurative and zoomorphic designs in the manner of the oriental repertoire, some handles of flabelli (fans) decorated at the base of the handle with groups of plastics with two male figures fighting against a lion, and a comb ornamented with figures of animals (sphinxes, lions, griffons) deduced from the same repertoire of oriental origin. Alongside the ivories are some gold, silver and bronze fibulas as well as a rare funeral mask in silver laminate that reproduces the face of a bearded man.
The fittings date back to 670-640 B.C.
The three individuals interred inside were buried with rich funerary fittings that included fragments of a war chariot, a shield and iron spears.
From the designs made at the time of the discovery, it would seem that the central section can be related to a high-ranking personage, since the remains of the chariot and shield were arranged at his head and feet, whereas the spears were alongside another skeleton on his left.
On exhibit in the Museum of Archeology and Art of Maremma in Grosseto since March 1999, these burial fittings include some precious objects, collected inside a bronze basin, placed in an isolated corner of the pit. The tomb owes its name to the very valuable circle of ivories; one stands out in particular from amongst them: the scriptorium, composed of a small board with the alphabet engraved in the upper margin, styli and scrapers (used for etching and “cancelling” the signs written on the layer of wax that was spread on the board). In addition, there is a pyx with a grip on the cover in the shape of a lotus flower and decorated with figurative and zoomorphic designs in the manner of the oriental repertoire, some handles of flabelli (fans) decorated at the base of the handle with groups of plastics with two male figures fighting against a lion, and a comb ornamented with figures of animals (sphinxes, lions, griffons) deduced from the same repertoire of oriental origin. Alongside the ivories are some gold, silver and bronze fibulas as well as a rare funeral mask in silver laminate that reproduces the face of a bearded man.
The fittings date back to 670-640 B.C.
