Via cava
42°39′N11°39′E/ 42.650°N 11.650°E
TheVie Cave(in Englishexcavated roads), also known in Italian asCavoni,is a road network in southern Europe, found in Spain[citation needed],Italy, Turkey[citation needed]and as far east as Jordan. In Italy they partly link anEtruscannecropolis and several settlements in the area betweenSovana,SoranoandPitigliano.They consist mainly oftrenchesof variable width and length, excavated as nearly vertical cliffs in different types of bedrock, sometimes over sixty feet high, possibly serving as a defense system against invaders, wild animals or forces of nature. Although often dated as being carved by pre-Roman civilisations in the first or second millennium BC, the builders and purpose of the road system are largely unclear, and there are indications that they are much older than assumed.
In Italy they are sometimes narrow, sometimes wider cuttings often running deeply through hills and bedrock, and are thought to have changed little since Etruscan times. Their construction is said to have resulted from the wearing through soft tuff but also harder bedrock by iron-rimmed wheels, creating deep ruts that required the road to be frequently recut to a smooth surface. Their dating is mainly deduced from the settlements they pass between, and objects from tombs beside them.[1]This dating is deemed uncertain by those pointing out the extent ofpetrifactionof the so-calledcart ruts.
In Roman times segments of the Vie Cave became part of a road system that was connected to the main trunk of theVia Clodia,an ancient road linkingRomeandManciano,through the city ofTuscania,which branched off from the Cassia road inLazioterritory. Wider segments are even included in the modern road system.
Vie Cave of Sovana[edit]
AroundSovana,the Vie Cave wind around and towards the archaeological area of that town, then reconnecting with those fromSoranoandPitigliano.
Vie Cave in Sorano[edit]
AroundSoranothe Vie Cave begin coming out of thePorta dei Merli,and descending into the valley of the river Lente.
TheVia Cava(singular forVie Cave) of San Rocco was on the opposite side of the Sorano county, along the ruins of the church of San Rocco, religious building of theromanesque artthat retains parts of the original wall of thevia.Behind the ruins of the church there is a vast Etruscan necropolis with tombs hewn into the tuff.
Near Poggio San Rocco and Poggio Croce there are also numerous Etruscan tombs and a columbarium, which are as rock-cut cells arranged in several rows one above the other. FromMiddle Ageson these ancient tombs became a shelter for pigeons.
Vie Cave of Pitigliano[edit]
AroundPitiglianothere are several Vie Cave, including the one directed towards the archaeological area of Sovana.
Notes[edit]
- ^Izzet, 193
References[edit]
- Izzet, Vedia,The Archaeology of Etruscan Society,2007, Cambridge University Press,ISBN1107320917,9781107320918,google books
- Video,Ancient Roads in which no Vehicle Fits - part 2 of the 2018 Italy Expedition,2019, YouTube[1]