The site of the excavations at Campo della Fiera outside Orvieto can be visited.

Excavations that were carried out here in 1876 unearthed a number of Etruscan terracotta antefixes (6th – 4th centuries BC) that provided evidence of one or more sanctuaries on the site.  Most of these are now in the Staatliche Museen,Berlin. 

More systematic excavation in 2000 led to the discovery of a wide range of interesting remains over a large area.  These included the podium of the main temple (6th – 4th centuries BC) and more antefixes like those discovered in 1876.  Although definite proof has yet to be found, this might have been the site of the Etruscan federal sanctuary known as Fanum Voltumnae. 

Other finds testify to the uninterrupted use of the site for cult purposes for some 2,000 years :

1. ✴Excavations nearby in 1886 unearthed a tract of a Roman road and some roadside Roman tombs.  These and more recent finds show that the Romans used this site for cult purposes after they had destroyed the Etruscan city in 264 BC. 
   

2. ✴The recent excavations also uncovered the remains of a medieval church (12th century) built over an older structure that was known from chronicles as San Pietro in Vetere.
   

Finds From the Site

Inscribed Base for a Statue (ca. 500 BC)

The Etruscan inscription, which is in two lines on each of two sides, has been transcribed:

kanuta larecenas lauteniθa aranθia pinies puia turuce

tlusχval marveθul faliaθere

Kanuta, freedwoman of the Larecena, wife of Aranth Pinie, has offered ... [this statue?]

to Tluschva

The divinity “Tluschva” is also named on the famous “Piacenza Liver”.  The translation of the fuller name given here (“tlusχval marveθul faliaθere”) is still debated among scholars. 

The bust is now in the Museo Archeologico.  This website contains more information about its inscription.

Antefix (4th century BC) 

Bust from the Campo della Fiera (early 3rd century AD) 

It has been suggested that this is a bust of the Emperor Geta, who was murdered by his brother and co-Emperor Caracalla in 212 AD and subjected to “damnatio memoriae” (i.e. dishonoured and removed from public memory).   If this is correct, sympathisers presumably buried the bust to avoid its destruction.

The presence of this and other Roman objects in the upper levels of the excavation show that the site retained its importance after the destruction of Volsinii in 265 BC.

The bust is now in the Museo Archeologico.