“French troops pierced archaeological finds from Sessa Aurunca”, in a document the test

The new document discovered by Ciotti, contained in one of the microfilm then donated by the Americans to the State Archive, dates back to November 9, 1944 and is signed by prof. Giuseppe Tommasino, honorary inspector of the Mandamento di Sessa Aurunca, and addressed to the above -mindedness to the antiquities of the province of Naples (at the time Sessa was in the province of Naples and not of Caserta). At the request of the above, Tommasino draws up a “list of material subtracted by the French employment troops (March-May 1944)” at the Civic Museum of Sessa, after an accurate inspection from “November 1st to 7th”.

“The delay of about 14 days to the response of the Note N 3188 of Codesta R. Sopintendency was determined by the needs to perform a patient work of recovery of the low material remained in advance, crowded in a corner of the room used as a civic museum and scattered throughout the house Annexed – writes Tommasino by documenting the massacre of the museum – the eviction work, as the residual archaeological material was covered by rags, by empty boxes by scrap Of all kinds, shattered, in axes’ apart from as it was, he required prudent and patient recovery work. November 1st to 7th November. reorganized “.

Then the honorary inspector passes to list the disappeared material as “subtracted by the French employment troops (March-May 1944)”. A long list that contains marble heads, statuettes, earthquakes, bronzes, coins of the republican and imperial age, cups, dishes, mugs, vases, lamps, iron daggers. Among other things, it documents the inspector, in addition to some disappeared capitals, others “fragmented and reduced to pieces were found between rubble and scrap accumulated in a corner of the environment used as a civic museum. As well as the terracotta doors. The work of the pound at the Rr.cc barracks “.

Tommasino also lists the “serious damage” suffered by the museum’s furnishings: “Seven spacious tables on which a good part of the archaeological material collected was placed were removed (together with the medal as said). So a writing table was still removed , in whose drawer the siliceous dagger was kept (donated to the museum by the Capizzi di Piedimonte family) pugaletto from the eneolithic era “.