Vast necropolis found near Tomb of Cerberus

Diverse burials, funerary enclosures and inscriptions, including one dedicated to a gladiator, have been discovered in a vast necropolis of the ancient city of Liternum, in Giugliano, the suburb of Naples where the exceptional Tomb of Cerberus was discovered in 2023. The graves and structures are in excellent condition, giving archaeologists a unique opportunity to study the funerary culture of a southern Italian Roman colony from the late Republican to the high Imperial periods.

The ancient Roman city of Liternum was founded in 194 B.C. on the site of a much older settlement of the Italic Osco-Umbrian people. It was a colony of 300 veterans of the Second Punic War, soldiers in the army of Scipio Africanus, who defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 B.C., ending the war against Carthage. First century Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote that Scipio Africanus had a villa in Liternum that was built of stone blocks with two towers at each end like a military fortress. He retired to his southern fortress in 194 B.C. and died there nine years later.

The newly-discovered necropolis was in use from the late 1st century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D. and contains a variety of Roman burial practices. It covers more than 1,600 square feet and is just a short distance from the city’s forum and amphitheater. Its location is adding essential information about the urban perimeter of the colony, and the route of the ancient Via Domitiana which must have run through or adjacent to the burials.

Two notable funerary enclosures have been unearthed. They were constructed of masonry covered with white plaster that was later painted in red. The two enclosures were separated by a space with a deep well, believed to have been used for cultic purposes. One of the enclosures has a quadrangular mausoleum in the center. It was made of opus reticulatum (diamond-shaped blocks of tufa stone) and had niches coated in plaster on the sides which housed cinerary urns.

Archaeologists found 20 different burials surrounding the walls of the enclosures. There are enchystrismos (amphora) burials, tiled coffer tombs with masonry covers and cappucina style tombs, ie, covered with terracotta tegulae (roof tiles) tilted against each other to form a gabled roof. Modest grave goods including coins, lamps and small pottery vessels, were found inside the burials.