Necropolis of Fossa

Last updated
Necropolis of Fossa
Necropoli di Fossa
Fossa AQ - Necropoli 15.JPG
View of the necropolis
Italy Abruzzo location map.svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Shown within Abruzzo
Location Fossa
Region Abruzzo
Coordinates 42°18′39″N13°30′18″E / 42.310764°N 13.505018°E / 42.310764; 13.505018
TypeNecropolis
History
Periods Italic peoples
Cultures Vestini
Site notes
ManagementComune of Fossa
Public accessyes

Necropolis of Fossa was an Italic necropolis, the ruins of which are located in the comune of Fossa, in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. [1]

Contents


History

Menhir Fossa AQ - Necropoli 08.JPG
Menhir

The origins of the necropolis of Fossa are attributed to the first population residing in the area, the Vestini on Monte Cerro, where remains of a fortified village dating back to between the 9th and 8th century BC can be found. Later, the development of Aveia during the Roman era continued its use until around the 1st century BC [2] .

The area is located in an alluvial zone on the eastern bank of the Aterno river. It was discovered accidentally in 1992 during excavations for the construction of an industrial warehouse.

The excavated area covers 3,500 m², with approximately 500 tombs of different types (tumuli, pits, chamber tombs, and infant burials in ceramic tiles) dating back to three main periods.

Iron Age

In the first two centuries (9th and 8th centuries BC), the tombs primarily consisted of tumuli and simple pits dug into the ground.

The tumuli were constructed with mounds of earth and stones, typically measuring between eight and fifteen meters in diameter, enclosed by stone circles. Some male tumuli featured a line of menhir of decreasing height from the inside out.

Inside the tumulus was the pit where the deceased and some of their personal effects, typically ceramic or bronze vessels, razors, and weapons for men, and jewelry for women, were buried.

Orientalizing and Archaic Ages

Tumuli Fossa AQ - Necropoli 17.JPG
Tumuli

In the following two centuries (8th-6th century BC), both pits and tumuli continued to be built, though the latter were now around 4 meters in diameter, and the lines of menhir for male tombs disappeared.

Regarding the grave goods, female tombs continued to contain jewelry, while male tombs contained weapons, including chest-protecting discs similar to those worn by the Warrior of Capestrano. In addition to local ceramics, imported vases, typically Etruscan, appeared.

By the 6th century, the use of tumuli ended, and simple pit graves became prevalent. Additionally, infant burials began, where newborns were placed in a ceramic tile and covered with another.

Hellenistic Age

Chamber tomb Fossa AQ - Necropoli 03.JPG
Chamber tomb

In the first phase (4th-3rd century BC), the tombs were exclusively pit graves for single burials. The grave goods no longer contained weapons but included ceramics and jewelry.

In the late Hellenistic period (2nd-1st century BC), monumental forms returned with chamber tombs, family hypogea with a quadrangular plan made of stone, accessed via a corridor with an entrance closed by one or two vertical stone slabs. Among the grave goods, notable items include funerary beds made of wood and leather, decorated with zoomorphic and anthropomorphic bone elements.

Other types of tombs in this period include box tombs (with stone or wooden walls), tombs with monumental markers, simple pit graves, and infant burials in ceramic tiles.

In the final century (1st century BC), alongside inhumation, cremation became widespread. The ashes of the deceased were collected in a jar closed with a flat stone or a ceramic lid and placed in the tomb without any grave goods.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tumulus</span> Mound of earth and stones raised over graves

A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or kurgans, and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built for various purposes, may also originally have been a tumulus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golasecca culture</span> Archaeological culture in Northern Italy

The Golasecca culture was a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age culture in northern Italy, whose type-site was excavated at Golasecca in the province of Varese, Lombardy, where, in the area of Monsorino at the beginning of the 19th century, Abbot Giovanni Battista Giani made the first findings of about fifty graves with pottery and metal objects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Necropolis</span> Large ancient cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments

A necropolis is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek νεκρόπολις nekropolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaudo culture</span>

The Gaudo Culture is an Eneolithic culture from Southern Italy, primarily in the region of Campania, active at the end of the 4th millennium BC, whose typesite necropolis is located near Paestum, not far from the mouth of the river Sele. Its name comes from the Spina-Gaudo necropolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monterozzi necropolis</span> Etruscan necropolis in Lazio, Italy

The Monterozzi necropolis is an Etruscan necropolis on a hill east of Tarquinia in Lazio, Italy. The necropolis has about 6,000 graves, the oldest of which dates to the 7th century BC. About 200 of the tomb chambers are decorated with frescos.

Part of series of articles upon Archaeology of Kosovo

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Necropolis of Cassibile</span> Burial site near Syracuse, Sicily, Italy

The Necropolis of Cassibile is a large archaeological site in the Province of Syracuse, near the towns of Avola and Cassibile. The site contains a very large graves system situated inside several ravines; the largest of them is called "Cavagrande". About 2,000 graves carved out of the rock have been found; they are dated from the 11th to the 9th century BC. This necropolis gives the name to a precise period of the Sicels' civilization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuvixeddu necropolis</span> Archaeological site in Cagliari, Italy

The necropolis of Tuvixeddu is a Punic necropolis, the largest in the Mediterranean. It is located in a hill inside the city of Cagliari, Sardinia called Tuvixeddu.

Enrico Santangelo is an Italian author and art historian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cava del Rivettazzo</span>

Cava del Rivettazzo is a Sicel necropolis located about 4 km north of Solarino on the SP 28 to Sortino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle of Fossa</span> Middle Ages castle in Abruzzo, Italy

The Castle of Fossa is a Middle Ages castle in Fossa, province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, southern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle of Ocre</span> Medieval castle in Abruzzo, Italy

Castello di Ocre is a medieval castle in Ocre, Province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, southern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle of Sant'Eusanio Forconese</span> Medieval castle in Abruzzo, Italy

The Castle of Sant'Eusanio Forconese is a medieval castle in Sant'Eusanio Forconese, Province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, southern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etruscan architecture</span> Architecture of the Etruscan civilization

Etruscan architecture was created between about 900 BC and 27 BC, when the expanding civilization of ancient Rome finally absorbed Etruscan civilization. The Etruscans were considerable builders in stone, wood and other materials of temples, houses, tombs and city walls, as well as bridges and roads. The only structures remaining in quantity in anything like their original condition are tombs and walls, but through archaeology and other sources we have a good deal of information on what once existed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermitage of San Bartolomeo in Legio</span>

Eremo di San Bartolomeo in Legio is an hermitage located in Roccamorice, Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock-cut tombs of San Liberatore</span> 9th century burial place in Abruzzo, Italy

Tombe rupestri di San Liberatore is a burial place located in Serramonacesca, Province of Pescara.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Campli is an archaeology museum in Campli, Abruzzo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Necropolis of Santu Pedru</span> Archaeological site in Alghero, Italy

The necropolis of Santu Pedru is an archaeological site of the municipality of Alghero, Sardinia.

There are some Macedonian tombs and the necropolises of Pydna around ancient Pydna and beside the ancient road from Methone in the north to Dion in the south. The oldest tombs are from the Bronze Age; the youngest are from the early Christian period. Smaller tumuli have eroded over time and are no longer visible. Most excavations have had to be carried out to save the sites. The finds in both areas show a shrinking population during the second Greek colonization.

The Pigi Athinas is an archaeological site at the eastern foot of Mount Olympus, near the village of Platamonas.

References

  1. "La necropoli di Fossa" (in Italian). Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  2. "Parco Archeologico della Necropoli di Fossa". Regione Abruzzo. Retrieved October 1, 2014.

Bibliography