File:The Etruscan buildings underneath the Forum, Rusellae, Etruria, Italy (30227127738).jpg

In the city center, underneath the paved part of the Forum, built during the Roman Age, are still preserved the most ancient Etruscan buildings: the so called “Enclosure Building” is characterized by only one room and two fenced areas, probably interpreting as a temple, and the so called “Building with Two Compartments”, constructed with two rectangular rooms, maybe used as public building. The “Enclosure Building” is attributable to the Etruscan Orientalizing Period (7th century B.C.) and it is composed by an internal oval space and an external rectangular space, surrounded by two enclosures: one on the north side and one on the south side. The building was built with sun-dried clay bricks, the floor was finished of beaten earth and the roof was made of straw. The archeologists interpreted the oval compartment as a house; this hypothesis was corroborated from some findings discovered in the garden, mainly loom weights and pottery flatware. The same building was recently reinterpreted as a temple in relation to new studies conducted on the architectonical setting of the building and its surroundings. The so called “Building with Two Compartments”, dated 6th century B.C., is formed by two large rectangular rooms, divided by a partition wall. The perimeter walls are made of interlocked stones and covered with clay. The partition wall, made of raw bricks, it is plastered. Remains of roof tiles and shingle, found on the floor during the excavations, would lead one to believe in the existence of a roof made of bricks. The building has been previously interpreted as a house, but its vastness suggests that this was probably a public building. The location in the central area of Roselle – the core of the religious and political life – might confirm this last interpretation.