The discovery of a monumental necropolis on Santa Croce Street, in the heart of Trento (northern Italy), has opened a new chapter in the archaeological research of the Alpine region. This discovery, of great historical and scientific significance, raises new questions about funerary practices and the forms of self-representation of the communities that inhabited this area during the Early Iron Age. Its location, an urban context of great stratigraphic importance, and the rarity of similar finds in the Alpine arc make this site an invaluable source of information for archaeology.
The excavation is being led by Dr. Elisabetta Mottes from the Ufficio Beni Archeologici of the Autonomous Province of Trento, while field operations are coordinated by Drs. Michele Bassetti and Ester Zanichelli of the Cora Società Archeologica di Trento.
The meticulous restoration of the recovered objects is being carried out by Susanna Fruet and Dr. Chiara Maggioni, who, through advanced micro-excavation techniques, have enabled the preservation and study of fragile pieces such as ossuary vessels.
In the early centuries of the first millennium BCE, the landscape where the city of Trento now stands was dominated by the course of the Fersina stream, characterized by a network of intermittently flowing channels. In this environment, subject to periodic flooding, the monumental necropolis was established, with an occupation spanning from the 9th to the 6th centuries BCE.
The necropolis’s position, between two channels that could become active during floods, has favored the preservation of the archaeological site, allowing for remarkable documentation of this community’s funerary practices.
The Iron Age was a period of intense transformations in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions. Civilizations such as the Etruscan, Phoenician, Greek, and Celtic began to flourish and interact through trade and cultural exchanges. The Alpine communities were not isolated from these contacts, establishing significant connections with the populations of the Po Valley, the Etruscans, and the Veneti.
According to Superintendent Franco Marzatico, this site offers the opportunity to study the elite of a society that, settled in the Trento basin, demonstrated its power and prestige through the deposition of funerary objects of great symbolic value.
One of the most striking features of the site is the arrangement of funerary stelae up to 2.40 meters high, placed in subparallel lines with a north-south orientation. These stelae served as markers for principal tombs, which consisted of stone chambers covered by tumular structures.
Over time, a dense concentration of satellite burials developed around them. The material used for these structures comes from the eastern hill of Trento, rich in nodular limestones from the Jurassic period, while pink marl limestone from the Scaglia Rossa was used for the funerary chambers.
Microstratigraphic analysis has allowed for the reconstruction of the complexity of funerary rituals. The presence of tierra de rogo has been documented—an accumulation of ashes and calcined bone remains, placed in perishable material containers and, less frequently, in ossuary vessels. In some cases, the remains were wrapped in fabrics fastened with fibulae or pins, suggesting a ritualized treatment of the deceased’s body.
The study of funerary goods has revealed the richness of these assemblages, which include weapons and ornamental objects inlaid with amber and glass paste, indicating the existence of commercial exchanges and cultural contacts with the Italic world. The objects found not only help reconstruct the social status of the buried individuals but also provide information about the connections and mobility of these communities.
Given the exceptional value of this discovery, an interdisciplinary team composed of specialists from various Italian and international institutions will continue the study of the site. The analysis of human and archaeobotanical remains, along with a detailed study of the funerary goods, will shed light on the social organization, rituals, and beliefs of this Iron Age community.
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