Etruscans:
A rare, untouched tomb from the Etruscans, a civilization that predated the Roman Republic, has been recently discovered in central Italy.
- The Etruscans were a Mediterranean civilization that flourished between the 8th and 3rd centuries BCE.
- The Etruscans, also known as the Tyrrhenians, inhabited the area that is now
- Their country was called Tuscia, or Etruria.
- Etruria was located in the central part of the Italian peninsula.
- Etruria was bounded on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, on the north by the Arno River, and on the east and south by the Tiber River.
- They had a strong navy and dominated the seas on the western coast of Italy.
- The Etruscans possessed the biggest iron reserves in the whole of the western Mediterranean.
- Many features of Etruscan culture were adopted by the Romans, their successors to power in the peninsula.
- Etruscans were the first in the Mediterranean region to construct a city on the basis of a grid plan.
- In this plan, most of the streets were laid in a north-south direction with a few streets crossing them from the east-west direction.
- Romans later followed this plan while laying out military camps and new cities.
