Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 Archaeologists excavating the
archeological site of Vetulonia outside of Grosseto, Tuscany,
have found a remarkably intact Etruscan house dating to between
the 3rd and 1st centuries B.C. Most of the standing structure
appears to have been a basement used for food storage. You can
still see the family’s earthenware grain storage pot and olive
press in the corner. The team also found all kinds of pottery,
vessels, plates which although broken are complete enough to be
put back together for display. The original beaten clay floor
are intact, and the sun-baked clay bricks used to build the
walls are the first Etruscan bricks ever found. The house
contained a large number of nails which suggests there was a
second floor made from wood and clay, with wooden beams
supporting it. The team even found a door knob and the remains
of bronze furniture. “These are the best [Etruscan] ruins that
have ever been found in Italy,” said Simona Rafanelli, director
of the Isidoro Falchi archeological museum