The epitaph of a gladiator, a precious document for the understanding of the role and memory of these fighters in Roman society, was discovered in the necropolis of the ancient lternum, in Giugliano in Campania (Naples), during the excavations where two funerary enclosures were highlighted. Among the most relevant finds, several marble funerary inscriptions stand out, some of which are intact. The Superintendency of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan Area of Naples announces it today.
In the area of the ancient lternum, a short distance from the forum and the amphitheater of the Roman colony, is currently being excavated, under the scientific direction of the archaeologist officer responsible for the territory, the Dr. Simona Formola, a large area of necropolises, extended for over 150 square meters, in an area already under protecting from direct ministerial constraint.
The two funeral fences brought to the light still bear extensive lacerti di plaster with white coating, with a more recent decoration phase in red, separated by a closed space, and a very deep masonry well, probably present for cultural reasons. One of the enclosures retains a quadrangular mausoleum in the reticulated cubilia work in gray tuff of three meters per side, shaved on the surface, with plastered niches along the sides to host cinerary urns. We still intend to the walls, about twenty tombs of the cappuccina type, in enchystrismòs and cash of tiles with very well -built masonry coverage were currently identified.
The evidence emerged attest to a continuity of use of the area that extends from the end of the first century AC to the average imperial age (II-III century AD), testified by the different construction phases of the structures found and by some objects of equipment (coins, lines and small vessels) collected in the burials, offering precious information on daily life, the ritual practices and the social dynamics of the communities that have inhabited the site.
Following these exceptional finds, the superintendent Mariano Nuzzo has declared “that the territory of Giugliano is experiencing a particularly fruitful moment from the point of view of archaeological research, first with the discovery of the tomb of the Cerberus and now with this necropolis which, thanks also to the excellent state of conservation of the wall structures and burials, adds an important piece to our knowledge relating to the settlement of the colony of Lidinum and constitutes A unique opportunity to deepen the study of ancient civilization, and the historical and cultural context of the time “.
“The importance that these investigations have – explained Nuzzo – is closely linked to the best understanding of the physiognomy of the ancient landscape and the urban perimeter of the colony, of which very little is still known, inducing us to propose new hypotheses also with respect to the track of the ancient Via Domitiana, on the sides of which these burials had to be placed. It is possible to achieve important results in the field of knowledge of a territory of crucial relevance from a historical and archaeological point of view “. Finally, the Superintendency underlined Nuzzo, “renews its commitment in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, so that these precious testimonies can be adequately preserved and shared with the scientific community and the vast public”.