Etruscan Necropolis of Cerracchio

The Etruscan necropolis of Cerracchio (6th–3rd century BC) developed along the path of a branch of the Via Clodia coming from nearby Grotta Porcina, and served a small rural satellite center of Blera. The burial ground extends across the Rio Secco and Fosso delle Dogane valleys, featuring a wide variety of tomb types.

The site’s use is documented as far back as the late Villanovan period (8th century BC), with shaft and pit tombs on the surrounding plateaus. The Archaic period (6th–mid-5th century BC) marks the peak of its prosperity: the burial styles — single-chamber tombs with two or three benches and semi-cube tombs — reveal the influence of Caeretan funerary architecture typical of inland southern Etruria.

During the Hellenistic period (late 4th–2nd century BC), the practice of cremation spread and new tomb types appeared: hypogeum chamber tombs with or without false doors on the facade, hypogeum tombs with sarcophagi, and small-chamber or loculus tombs. Also significant is the presence of 17 simple niches and aedicules with niches on the facade. The location of the settlement remains uncertain: the most widely accepted hypothesis places it on the plateau north of the Aurelia Bis, where the opening of a tuff quarry has destroyed all traces of it.