Archaeological Museum of Bologna

This roughly rectangular stele was the marker ("segnacolo") for an interred tomb that had no other distinguishing feature.

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The grave goods contained in the tomb were a pair of simple bronze spiral earrings. Nevertheless, the decorated marker is fairly unique. There are in fact only three steles in the necropolises of Felsina that had been decorated before the 7^th century B.C., when stone sculpture was introduced. This sample was etched with the picture of house with a double-pitched roof. The façade of the house is decorated with two rectangles and a point in the middle of them, which could be interpreted as doors or decorative elements. The picture is useful evidence to understand what houses looked like in the Villanovan period.

Provenance: Bologna, San Vitale Necropolis, tomb 793
Datation: Late 8th–early 7th century B.C.
Material: Sandstone
Dimensions: Height: 55 cm; width: 25 cm.
Inventory #: 11683