Emailing with a pal

[Minimalist]

and the subject turned to a recent find of an Etruscan tomb in Italy.

From there the discussion went to Etruscan pottery - which is some of the most beautiful ever designed.

[The Valkyrie]

Looks very Greek or Minoan in design and pattern.

I don't know a lot about the Etruscans. Is there a known connection between them and the other cultures?

[Minimalist]

No.  That is exactly the problem with them.  Their origins are obscure.

[The Valkyrie]

No.  That is exactly the problem with them.  Their origins are obscure.

Yes, I have a vague recollection of reading an article years ago.

You're right, though.

Those pots are beautiful, and stand out from other ancient pottery from the region. 

There's just something that strikes me about them as being similar to Minoan.

Not sure if it's the use of bright colours or the actual pictures.

Kinda hard to define.

[Minimalist]

Minoan dolphin vase.

When we were on the island of Rhodes we stopped at a pottery factory and bought a replica of one design which really caught our eye.



Must have been the Turquoise and Dolphin Phase!

[Minimalist]

Here you go, Beccs.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/ju...johnhooper

The enigma of Italy's ancient Etruscans is finally unravelled

DNA tests on their Italian descendants show the 'tuscii' came from Turkey

Not sure I buy the mass migration concept.  C. 1200 BC the whole of Asia Minor was beset by the Sea Peoples and a group of defeated warriors/refugees showing up in Central Italy would have had little trouble dominating the proto-Villanovan culture of the time.  A group with bronze armor and weapons would have far out-gunned the Italian tribes they came across.