Tumulus of the Etruscan Prince, via San Jacopo

Tumulo del principe etrusco, in zona S. Jacopo (L. Corevi, Comune di Pisa)
Tumulo del principe etrusco, in zona S. Jacopo (L. Corevi, Comune di Pisa)
The Etruscan burial mound of via San Jacopo is part of a very large necropolis that went, in a non-continuous manner, from via del Brennero to Barbaricina, from north-east to north-west. Known as Tumulus of the Prince and dated between the eighth and seventh centuries BC, it has a diameter of just over 30 meters and is crowned by stones of various shapes and sizes. No body was found inside, but the imprint of a trident and the remains of a puppet in bronze foil lying in a dolium: these clues suggest that this was is a cenotaph for a princeps coming from a Pisan noble family and probably died at sea during one of the expeditions in the Mediterranean. The site was then used as a burial place for the family, or other families close to him until the fifth century BC. Another hypothesis suggests a large construction to demonstrate the power of the city, built for peoples from the north. Some finds are exhibited at the Museum of Ancient Ships in Pisa. The Etruscan people continue to be one of the most mysterious in the world, its origins are still uncertain today. The two most plausible hypotheses are that it developed from the Villanovian, civilisation or that it came from the lands of present day Turkey.