Arath Spuriana, la Tomba dei Tori e Gravisca: paesaggio, potere e memoria nella Tarquinia arcaica

Arath Spuriana, the Tomb of the Bulls and Gravisca: Landscape, Power, and Memory in Archaic Tarquinia This paper examines the Tomb of the Bulls at Tarquinia as a device of aristocratic self-representation. Attributed to Arath Spuriana, the monument integrates architecture, imagery, and landscape to construct memory and identity. The ambush of Achilles and Troilus is read as a suspended, liminal scene expressing death as transition. Vegetal motifs and the frieze articulate a symbolic system centered on fertility and regeneration, while figures such as Acheloos mark the threshold between worlds. The tomb’s orientation toward the coast and its link with Gravisca highlight the connection between funerary representation, maritime networks, and aristocratic power.