In 1889, archaeologists went looking for a 2,700-year-old tomb. 137 years later, its monumental burial chamber has emerged with gold, weapons and rare treasures

When Stéphane Gsell, an archaeologist, came to the ancient city of Vulci in central Italy in 1889, there was a specific tumulus he had come to investigate. He traced the circumference of the tumulus but could not locate the tomb that existed below the surface.

More than a century later, archaeologists have returned to the same site — and believe they have finally located the burial chamber Gsell was searching for. The discovery, made during this summer's excavation at the Polledrara necropolis, has revealed a monumental Etruscan tomb dating to the seventh century B.C.