VULCI. – An ancient Etruscan city located along the Via Aurelia about 20 km northwest of Tarquinia.
It flourished until 280 BC, when it was occupied by the Romans, as attested by the sumptuous tombs discovered from 1828 onward, rich in bronzes, stone sculptures, goldsmith work, notable series of vases, and wall paintings, material now dispersed in museums throughout the world. It declined in the Roman age, even though it had become a municipium. Christianity is documented there by the remains of a Christian *epopeum*.
In the spring of 1834, a semicircular chamber with a vaulted ceiling supported by a travertine pillar was discovered. Within it were found tombs, the first of which was built of masonry with a plastered lid bearing the remains of an inscription in five lines, ending with the wish “(c)um san(c)tis” (CIL, XI, 2949); among the debris of an external wall, three painted heads were identified, one of which appeared to be nimbed and dressed in a dalmatic. To the right of the semicircular chamber, on the plaster, a two-line graffito inscription was found, the second line containing the wish: “pax cum ang(elis)” (CIL, XI, 2950). Among the earth were recovered coins of Constantine, Decentius, Valentinian, and Gratian.