t the mere rude mound
of earth heaped over the dead in an uncultured age; and the mound
would be made higher and larger according to the dignity of the
deceased; and the podium or row of stones around its foot was simply
the retaining wall necessary to give it stability and shape. The tomb
at Veii had a narrow entrance-passage; and we find this a marked
feature in all Etruscan tombs, which are approached by a vaulted
passage of masonry, varying from twelve to a hundred feet in length.
This also, according to Dr. Taylor, was but a survival of the low
entrance-passage through which the ancient Siberians crept into their
subterranean habitations, and which the modern Laplanders and
Esquimaux still construct before their snow-huts and underground
dwellings, to serve the purpose of a door in keeping out the wind and
maintaining the temperature of the interior.

The other, or cave type of Etruscan tomb, is that which we see at
Veii, and of which there are hundreds of examples all over Central
Italy, wherever there are deep valleys bounded by low cliffs. This,
too, was modelled after the pattern of the house. There were usually
two chambers, an outer and an inner one. The outer was the place of
meeting between the living and the dead; the surviving friends feasted
there during their annual visit to the tomb, while the dead were laid
in the inner chamber in the midst of familiar objects. Here everything
was designed to keep up the delusion that the dead were still living
in their own homes. The roof of the chamber was carved in imitation of
the roof-tree, the rafters, and even the tiles of the house; the rock
around was hewn into couches, with cushions and footstools like those
on which they reposed when living; on the floor were the wine-jars,
the vases, and utensils, consecrated by long use; on the various
projections were suspended the mirrors, arms, and golden ornaments
that were most prized; while the walls were painted with gay frescoes,
representing scenes of festivity in which eating and drinking, music
and dancing, played a prominent part. And as the ordinary habitation
contained the family, the grandparents, the parents, and the children,
all living under the same roof, so the Etruscan tombs were all family
abodes--the dead of a whole generation being deposited in the same
inner chamber.

To the outer chamber, as I have said, came the surviving members of
the family at least once a year to hold a funeral feast, and