Cinerary Urns and Sarcophagi from Chiusi
Situated in north-eastern Etruria, Chiusi (Clusium) control led the fertile valley of the River Chinna. The modern town covers the ancient. city, but many tombs lie in the surrounding countryside and may still he seen.

The tombs are usually cut into sloping hillsides: some of the tombs have painted chambers and a few hellenistic ones were constructed with fine barrel vaulting. Several local tombs have been discovered with their contents still intact.
From the Villanovan period of the 9th and 8th centuries BC, the inhabitants of Chiusi cremated their dead and placed the ashes in urns of many different types. These include the so-called Canopic urns with anthropomorphic features , hollowed stone statues, and urns carved in the term of a temple or house.

From the 4th century onwards, stone or terracotta cinerary chests were generally used. These often have low relief scenes upon the front and the figure of the dead person upon the lid, reclining as if at a banquet. Sometimes the dead were not cremated but placed in sarcophagi within the tombs.