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Necropoli del Poggino

Necropoli del Poggino historical timeline

Last updated on October 16, 2026

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The necropolis is the cemetery of a settled community, not a single monument. The hill was used as a burial ground by an Etruscan community that inhabited this territory from the end of the 7th century BC until the 5th — roughly two hundred years of continuous use.

The sequence can be read in the tombs themselves. Tomb 3 is the oldest, the first to be built, at the end of the 7th century BC, and by some distance the largest and richest. Tomb 4 is the most recent, dated by its material to the 5th century BC, and markedly simpler. The necropolis gets smaller as it gets younger.

It belongs to the Chianti of the Etruscan princes. In the orientalising period of 720–580 BC the new Etruscan lords controlled the transit routes that followed the watercourses and built imposing sepulchres; the ridges of the Chianti were part of that network because the Arbia, the Ombrone, the Pesa and the Greve rise here. The Poggino is named in that company alongside the tumulo di Montecalvario at Castellina, Malpensata at Radda and the Poggione at Castelnuovo Berardenga.

Then the tomb robbers. All five identified tombs were looted by tombaroli in past ages, which is why the chambers to either side of the entrances were found so badly damaged — the damage is from repeated violation, not from collapse.

What the thieves left dated the site. From the small rear cell of tomb 3 came the remains of a cinerary urn, an iron decoration from a wooden parade chest, incised ivory plaques and fragments of bronze vessels; from tomb 1, two Attic black-figure amphorae of the mid-6th century BC. Those objects are now in the museum at Castellina.

Verified against Wikipedia, October 2026.

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Checked against Wikipedia — The necropoli del Poggino is an Etruscan necropolis situated near Fonterutoli, in the comune of Castellina in Chianti, on a hill that was used as a cemetery by an Etruscan community which inhabited the territory from the end of the 7th century BC until the 5th century BC., Tomb number 3 is the largest of the necropoli del Poggino and also the oldest, the first to be built at the end of the 7th century BC; the dimensions of the tomb and the richness of what remains of the grave goods allow it to be attributed to a powerful local family of princely rank. Its monumental aspect is evident from the considerable dimensions of the surviving part of the tumulus, and it is composed of a long entrance dromos of the donkey-back type and a vestibule giving onto three cells arranged in a cross, the entrance threshold still standing; inside are three chambers and a smaller room at the bottom of the tomb, and for the restoration of the walls blocks of yellow tufa were used to differentiate them from the original wall., Tomb number 4 is the most recent of the necropoli del Poggino, as can be deduced from the material found, which allows it to be dated to the 5th century BC; the characteristics of its structure recall those of tomb number 2, with the absence of the dromos and the presence of a single chamber, the covering must also have been similar, and a block of travertine left standing lets one imagine the structure of the door, travertine having been widely used in this tomb too., Five tombs have been identified in the necropoli del Poggino: four chamber tombs and one chest tomb; the tombs were looted by tomb robbers in past ages, and the four visible today have a monumental structure and are joined to one another by a path that winds through the wood., In the rear cell of tomb 3 of the necropoli del Poggino part of the funerary grave goods was found, which was then used to date the tomb to the end of the 7th century BC; the objects found were the remains of an urn destined to contain the ashes of the deceased, a fragment of iron that served to decorate a wooden parade chest, some incised ivory plaques and fragments of bronze vessels., Among the remains of the materials coming from tomb number 1 of the necropoli del Poggino are two Greek black-figure ceramic amphorae dating to the middle of the 6th century BC, one of which represents a banquet scene., The necropoli del Poggino, situated near Fonterutoli, together with the tumulo di Montecalvario attests the presence of the Etruscans in the area of Castellina in Chianti. (October 2026).
Checked against Museo Archeologico del Chianti senese — The orientalising period of 720-580 BC is marked in Etruria by the acquisition of luxurious products and cultural models expressing the splendour of the courts of the Near East, and the reliefs of the Chianti were involved in that network because they are innervated by the significant watercourses that rise there -- the Arbia, the Ombrone, the Pesa and the Greve -- as the aristocratic burials of the tumulo di Montecalvario at Castellina, of Malpensata at Radda, of the Poggino at Fonterutoli and of the Poggione at Castelnuovo Berardenga show. (October 2026).

Necropoli del Poggino historical timeline

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