Archaeology Odyssey

There is an interesting echo of these symbols in the modern metric system. Since the metric prefixes for multipliers are Greek, we use d- for ten (deka-), h- for hundred (hecto-),and k- for thousand (kilo-).

One of these Etruscan linen books, reused to wrap an Egyptian mummy and preserved in the dry air of the Nile Delta, is now in the National Museum in Zagreb, Croatia. However, this remarkable artifact was not identified until the 20th century.

The Nordic ring of Asgaria, with its evocations of Thor hammering thunderbolts on the plain of Asgard, also struck a chord. Many in Europe’s most learned circles, beginning with the Swedish Catholic scholar Johannes Magnus in the mid-16th century, had noted the similarity between Scandinavian runes and Etruscan script. Prospero’s texts appeared to support theories suggesting a cultural bridge.

Volterra’s defeat is one example of the Etruscans’ relentless absorption by Rome after the defeat of the Etruscan ruler Tarquin the Proud in 509 B.C. The last episodes of the struggle were played out in the first century B.C. By the time of the emperor Augustus (27 B.C.–14 A.D.), Etruscan writing had all but disappeared from tombs, buildings, coins, statues and books—from everything except certain religious texts.