The Hypogeum of the Volumnis is located five kilometers outside the city of Perugia among a site of Etruscan tombs known as the Necropolis of Palazzone. A 19th century vestibule exists above ground, enclosing and protecting the archeological site of this ancient Etruscan tomb. The vestibule itself contains a multitude of small funerary urns excavated from the surrounding necropolis that are terraced around the entrance to the hypoguem. From the vestibule, a steep staircase leads 5.3m (17ft) underground over 30 steps. A travertine doorway is at the bottom of this staircase which contains an inscription dedicating the chamber to the Velimna family (translated to Volumnius in Roman). Across the threshold is a large rectangular central chamber surrounded by nine smaller, funerary chambers in a somewhat anthropomorphic plan. The layout of this plan reflects the typology of a typical ancient Etruscan house; the central chamber is analogous to an atrium of the house, and is bordered by lateral chambers on its eastern and western sides; a chamber analogous to a tablinum is located at the far end of the central chamber along a main axis.
Due to the eventual domination by the Romans of their neighbors, little is left in the realm of material culture of the early Italic peoples. We know the most about the Etruscans, whose culture is believed to have begun around 700 BCE. The Etruscans are known primarily through their underground tombs and the funerary artifacts found within. The Hypogeum of the Volumnis is an ancient Etruscan tomb of the Velimna (in Etruscan, Volumnis in Latin) family. It is a prime example of a late Etruscan tomb, showcasing a Greek style in its decorated tympanum in the central chamber. Internments were made from about 300 to 100 BCE, a time when Etruscan elites were being challenged by the growing dominance of the Romans. The Hypogeum of the Volumnis was probably closed during the first century BCE as Roman customs came to replace those of the Etruscans. Uncovered by accident in 1840 and more fully excavated in the 1960s, the Hypogeum of the Volumnis is the largest and most completely intact of the almost two hundred known tomb sites at the Necropolis of Palazzone.
In October 2004, Guido Galvani and Nicola Zaltron, from the Research Center for the Development of Integrated Automatic Procedures for Restoration of Monuments (DIAPReM) of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ferrara, conducted a high definition 3D laser scan survey of the Etruscan tomb known as the Hypogeum of the Volumnis (Ipogeo dei Volumni) together with Daniel Blersch, at that time from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Florence and currently working at DIAPReM. The 3D laser scan survey, with a Leica/Cyrax HDS 3000 and integrated topographic survey, were executed in only 14 hours to avoid interfering with visitor access. The survey was executed in 23 high definition scans, registered within the topographic survey to create a master data set. The result of this complete data set was a 3D Point Cloud Model containing 10,732,163 points with an average error of 3mm.
Since its discovery in 1840 by the local landowner, Conte Baglioni, the tomb's entrance has been protected by a small vestibule. The landowner used it to house the artifacts uncovered in the course of his informal excavations. Several restorations have been executed, but the sandstone surfaces' preservation is compromised by mechanical vibrations due to a railway track and a pole of a highway bridge, both adjacent to the site.
The chamber in the privileged position, opposite the stair along the axis of the central chamber, is analogous to the tablinum, or master's study, of a traditional Etruscan house where family records and deities resided. The tablinum has a coffered ceiling similar to the eastern ala. This chamber contains seven travertine cinerary urns, some covered with stucco, as well as sculptures in sandstone, terracotta, and marble. These sculptures depict not only the individuals interred in the tomb, but also mythological beasts such as Gorgons and serpents, which represent the demons in Etruscan belief systems.
In the center stands the highly decorated crypt of Arnth Velimna, who is commemorated in the inscription on the doorpost of the entrance as one of the tomb’s founders. At the base are two statues of Furies, underworld creatures from Etruscan myth. While most of these Velimna family effigies date from the pre-Roman period, one has an inscription in Latin and is thought to be from the early years under Roman rule, when local mortuary traditions were still being observed.