Monumental Republican tombs found in Rome suburb
An monumental early Republican-era funerary complex has been discovered in a suburb of Rome. The excavation of the Via di Pietralata east of Rome also uncovered a stretch of an ancient road, a small cult building and two monumental basins dating back to the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. Remains from this early in the Republican era are scarce in the Eternal City, which make these finds very archaeologically significant.The Pietralata area was first excavated in 1997. Evidence of settlement was found dating back to the Archaic period (8th-6th century B.C.), rare in Roman archaeology. Around that time, a series of tunnels were dug into the hill connected to circular wells believed to have been water collection cisterns. Those excavations also unearthed the remains of a luxury home built there in late Republican era and early imperial water management infrastructure. The current excavations began in 2022 in advance of a large project of urban planning. They too have uncovered evidence of constant occupation ranging from the 5th-4th centuries B.C. through the 1st century A.D.The funerary complex was discovered on the tufa bank sloping down from the Via di Pietralata. Two corridors lead to two chamber tombs dating to the 4th or early 3rd centuries B.C.The first, designated Tomb A, features a monumental entrance to the inner chamber carved into the rock. The portal, made of stone with jambs and lintel, was closed internally by a large monolithic slab. A large sarcophagus and three urns, all made of peperino stone, were found inside the burial. The grave goods included two intact vases, a black-painted bowl, a depurated ceramic jug, a mirror, and a small cup, also black-painted.Tomb B, probably made at a slightly later time but still in the Republican period, in the 3rd century B.C., was enclosed by large tuff blocks. The chamber has on its sides benches intended for the deposition of the deceased. Among the human remains an adult male skeleton was identified, of which only part of the skull has so far been recovered. On this element the sign of a surgical drilling was recognized, a testimony of great interest for the history of ancient medicine.Archaeologists believe the tombs were unified by a monumental faade of tufa blocks, of which only traces remain today. The blocks were likely dismantled and reused in later antiquity. The monumental proportions of the complex indicates it belonged to a wealthy family of the area.The road was likely built over a preexisting travel path, but it was the first constructed axis. It is in two sections: one made of beaten earth close to the current Via di Pietralata, the second dug into the tufa bank near the current Via Feronia. Early carriageway furrows still survive in the tufa. It was extensively repaired and upgraded in the early Imperial era. It fell into gradual disuse after the 1st century A.D., and a number of pit burials were found along the axis dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. At the end of the road was a sacellum, a small quadrangular cult building constructed of masonry, tufa and plaster. It was built on top of a votive deposit, and the excavation unearthed female figurines, pottery body parts, terracotta cattle and a figurine of a young Hercules. Hercules was a popular deity along the ancient Via Tiburtina road from Rome to Tibur, with several temples along the route. This small chapel was likely dedicated to him as well. It dates between the late 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C.It is precisely in contexts like this, explains Daniela Porro, Special Superintendent of Rome. seemingly distant from the best-known sites of the ancient metropolis, that elements emerge that are capable of enriching the narrative of archaeological Rome as a diffuse city and that have contributed in a decisive way to its development. The modern suburbs thus prove to be repositories of deep memories, yet to be explored.
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