Title: The Civil engineer and architect's journal, scientific and railway gazette
Identifier: civilengineerarc13lond (find matches)
Year: 1839-1850 (1830s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture; Civil engineering; Science
Publisher: London : (William Laxton)
Contributing Library: Northeastern University, Snell Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Northeastern University, Snell Library

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146 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. (May, The name by which the Etruscans always called themselves wa. Rasena That by which thev were known anionerst the (creeks was Tyrseni, or f urrheni ; bn't as the Cmbrians and Pelasgians in Italy were also called Tyrrhenian, it has given rise to some contu- ^'^Authors differ g^reatlv as to whence the Etruscans came, or how far their dominion actuallv extended. In fact, we only know enough of them to excite our curiosity, without much hope of ever having it satisfied. Notices of the Etruscans are only scattered here and there in the Latin writings, nor can these cursory remarks always be relied upon. . . , Micali says, "It is easy to understand how, during a period when the passion for war wks all-absorbing, the proud and barbarous indifference of the Romans despised the knowledge of a rival people, with whom thev had so long disputed pre-eminence and the empire of Italy." But there is little doubt that the Romans not only despised, but wantonly falsified and destroyed the records and monuments of Etruria; and this has hitherto been an irre- parable evil, as the Etruscan language entirely differs from any now known, so that the inscriptions on the tombs are but a dumb treasure. /• i • e But who shall place a limit to the discoveries of this age ol energy and enlightenment ? And when we remember how short a time it is since Ur. William Young first discovered the key to the hieroglyphics, and that within the last few months some light has been thrown on the cuneiform character of Assyria, we need not despair of being enabled at some future time to decyplier the few remaining records of Etruria. Though some authors a<lvocate a different opinion, there seems every reason to believe that the Etruscans were of Eastern origin. Their religious f(n-ms and ceremonies, their architecture and style of masonry, all seem to denote this. According to Micali, "Tiie Tuscan name filled with its glory all the country from the Alps to the Sicilian straits;" but their empire must soon have been con- fined to Etruria Media, as between 900 and 1000, b. c, we find the names of j^^'-notrians, Volscians, Latins, and others, as separate states : whether trilnitary or not is uncertain. Long after tliis, however, and hmg after the foundation of Rome, the Etruscans continued "lords of" the sea;" for out of respect to their power, the one sea was called Tuscan, the other Adriatic, fnmi their great city Adria. They sent out colonies even as far as the coast of Spain, where they founded Tarraco, now Tarragona; and thus keeping up intercourse with all tlie nations bordering on the Mediterranean, wealth flowed into their country, and art and science followed in the train of commerce. Etruria Media, or Etruria Proper, comprehended what is now the duchies of Tuscany and Lucca, tlie Papal States north of the Tiber, and extended across from sea to sea. The government was eminently favourable to the rise of art. It was aristocratic and federal;'divided into twelve districts, under the names of the twelve principal cities, Tarquinii, Veii, Falerii, C;ere, Volsinii Vetulonia, Rusella", Clusium, Arretium, Cortona, Perusia, and Volterra;. Each of these cities was ruled by a chief liicumo, or king. Lars Porsenna was called King of Clusium. Tarquinii was the capital city of the kingdom ; and in this district was the seat of the great national council, ^'oltumna. Tlius these cities were independent, though united, and naturally vied with each other in producintr noble works of art. The firmness of the government also tended to the cultivation of the elegancies of life ; for Etruria changed neither name, language, laws, nor religious forms dunng the whole jieriod of its existence, retaining the latter even after its subjugation to Rome. In tiie north of Etruria the higher mountains are of limestone, and the lower range of sandstone. The southern district is almost entirely volcanic tufa, lava, and scorise, with occasional basalt or limestone peaks, like S(n-acte, overtopping the lower volcanic hills. Consequently the masonry of north and south Etruria difters con- siderably. Owing to the greater difficulty of working the limestone and sandstone, the blocks were seldom cut to a size, though gene- rally squared and laid in horizontal courses. In the south, where the stone was of a softer nature, and more easily worked, the masonry was beautifully regular. The Etruscans seldom, if ever, used cement, but relied entirely upon the bond of their work. In some instances layers of tliin iii-icks or tiles were laid between the courses of stone.' Rustic work was also frequently used by the Etruscans. In part of the wall of Volterrie and elsewhere, the upper are much more massive than the lower C(nirses, and are supposed to have been placed thus, that the larger stones might be opposed to the gtroke of the battering ram. The situation of Etruscan towns announces a greater degree of social security than was enjoyed by the Pelasgians or UmbriaiLS. in the volcanic district the ground is split into ravines, each form- ing a sort of natural fosse. A piece of land lying between two such ravines was a favourite site with the Etruscans on which to erect their cities. In the north the towns were situated on an eminence, but not at such an unattainable height as the cities of tlie earlier settlers. Each city was surrounded by a massive wall, and guarded by square towers, usually about fifty feet apart. Sir William Cell, in his description ot the ancient tescennium, says that about sixty towers yet remain standing. They have chambers in the upper story, with doors opening from them on to the wall so as to allow of an uninterrupted passage along the ram- parts Each city had its citadel or arx, its temples, theatre, am- phitheatre, baths, and other public buildings, remains of which may yet be traced. Each city had also a complete system of sewerage, by which the extent of these towns of ancient Etruria may be seen. Etruria Proper was at one time so densely populated that there were walled towns, occupying many square miles, and containing several thousand inhabitants, within two miles of each other. Now with few exceptions, these great cities are laid low. Perhaps a modern Italian viUa^^e occupies a corner of the ancient site; but more frequently the spot is a wilderness, where the shepherds pas- ture their flock's, or a desolate swamp, where the demon malaria holds undisputed possession. • • i r There is no doubt that the Etruscans introduced the principle ot cuneiform sustentation into Italy. A\'hether they worked out the principle of the arch for themselves, or whether they acquired it from the Egyptians, it is impossible to say; but that they under- stood and practised it before the time of the Romans is tquite certain.
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Etruscan Emissarium.
It is singular that when they had once discovered this principle,
they did not always practice it ; but it seems they only applied it
to great public woirks, and in other places still made use of the old
Pelasgic methods. Many of their arches are formed by the courses
of stone proiecting one over the other ; and in the emissarii, or grottoes
at the embouchure of the water conduits, the pointed arch,
constructed with flat stones meeting at an angle, is frequently met
with. There is an uncemented arched cloaca at Graviscae, the
voussoirs of which are from five to six feet in depth ; but the Porta
all' Arco, at Volterrae, is considered the oldest and most perfect
Etruscan archway now in existence. It has been a consecrated
gateway, for the heads of the three divinities are placed above the

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