Last Wednesday, February 5, authorities presented the results of a crucial operation for the protection of cultural heritage. The Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio de Salerno y Avellino, in collaboration with the Lagonegro Prosecutor’s Office and the Carabinieri of the Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale, unveiled to the press and the public the findings of an archaeological excavation carried out after the detection of illegal works in Padula, Campania, in southern Italy.
Last summer, unauthorized construction work was reported on a piece of land in the locality of Contrada Cicirelli, where a stable was to be built. However, these interventions resulted in severe damage to a group of ancient burials.
Upon verifying the situation, the competent authorities immediately seized the area and, together with the Soprintendenza, decided to undertake an urgent intervention to recover and preserve the affected remains.
The excavations led to the recovery of nineteen tombs, mostly of the “a cappuccina” type, characterized by beds and walls made of tegulae, while the covering was also composed of these ceramic slabs arranged in a gabled fashion. In some cases, the bodies had been placed directly in pits dug into the ground, with a large stone marking the position of the deceased’s head.
Additionally, several of these burials contained grave goods, mainly black-glazed ceramics and vases decorated with red-figure female images, pieces attributed to workshops in the Lucania region, probably located in the Vallo di Diano. Some vases were also found outside the tombs, suggesting that post-burial rituals had been performed. Experts have dated these findings to the second half of the 4th century BC.
One of the most outstanding discoveries was tomb number 64, an “a cappuccina” burial containing a funerary assemblage composed of several black-glazed vases and an undecorated small pot. Inside the latter, archaeologists discovered a silver coin, a diobol minted in Tarentum between 380 and 325 BC, featuring the image of the goddess Athena on the obverse and the representation of Hercules strangling the Nemean lion on the reverse.
Moreover, one of the slabs covering the grave bore a rudimentary engraving made before its firing: the figure of a man on horseback. The animal is depicted in full gallop, while the rider wears a helmet and raises one arm as if to throw an object, possibly a spear. This detail suggests that the deceased was a warrior, someone of high status within his community.
In another of the burials, researchers found a grave assemblage consisting of numerous black-glazed and red-figure vases, including a krater, a type of vessel associated with symposium rituals, decorated with female images. Alongside the ceramic objects, they found an iron knife, a bronze belt that the deceased was wearing at the time of burial, several metal spits, two fire supports, and a lead candelabrum.
The belt suggests that the deceased was also a warrior, while the household utensils reinforce the idea of his prominent role within the domestic and social sphere.
The pattern of tomb distribution and their characteristics have led experts to consider the possibility that these burials are associated with an ancient settlement or a farm from the period.
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