The importance of Tarquinii to archaeologists lies mainly in its necropolis, situated to the southeast of the medieval town, on the hill named "Monterozzi". The oldest tombs are , or shaft graves, containing the ashes of the dead in an urn. The oldest of them probably pre-Etruscan; in some of these tombs are hut-shaped urns, many of which contain well-preserved paintings of various periods; some show close kinship to archaic Greek art, while others are more recent, and one may belong to the middle of the 4th century BC. Sarcophagi from these tombs, some showing traces of painting, were preserved in the municipal museum, as were numerous Greek vases, bronzes and other objects.