Etruscan burials in the Cortona (Italy) Archaeological Park

Originally an Umbrian city, Cortona was conquered then enlarged by the Etruscans, who called it Curtun. During the 7th century BCE, it joined the Etruscan League. Cortona eventually became a Roman colony under the name Corito. It was sacked and destroyed in the final stages of the Gothic War (535-554 CE).

The Cortona Archaeological Park includes three excavated Etruscan burial mounds. Tumulo I contains five burial chambers.  It was initially constructed in the 6th century BCE but was later reused in the 4th century BCE for a man named Arnt Mefanates and his wife Velia Hapisnei. Tumulo II contains two tombs fronted by a platform-altar with a staircase of ten steps and a sculpted balustrade depicting palm trees and a fight between a lioness and a warrior. The original sculptures are displayed in the local archaeological museum. Of the two tombs found within this tumulus, tomb 1, built between 580-560 BCE, is characterized by a long access corridor leading to two rectangular vestibules with six burial chambers.  The second tomb of the complex was not discovered until 1991.  It dates back to about 480 BCE and is constructed with just two simple burial chambers.  However, here archaeologists found stone sarcophagi and funerary urns in addition to a hundred pieces of extremely refined gold smithing: various necklaces, pendants, earrings and rings.

In 2005, an area referred to as the orientalizing necropolis dating back to the 7th-6th centuries BCE was uncovered.  It contained two groups of tombs delimited by circles of sandstone slabs on a stone foundation of slabs placed sideways and reinforced by river pebbles. The tombs that have been found, mostly “coffer” and trench tombs, were still intact for the most part including their preserved grave goods, mostly pottery.

If you request permission, you may also visit the ongoing excavation of the Roman Villa of Ossaia,  a villa rustica of the Late-Republican-Imperial Age inhabited from the second half of the 1st century to the 5th century CE. There, a variety of both black and white and polychrome mosaics have been found, some displayed in the local archaeological museum.

For more information and images see: https://www.cortonaweb.net/en/archaeological-park/ 

Image: Ornate bronze helmet recovered from Cortona, Arezzo, Italy photographed in the special exhibit, "Restoring History: The Dawn of Etruscan Princes" by Egisto Sani (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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Ancient Scythopolis, the leading city of Rome's Decapolis

Historically known as Scythopolis, Beth Shean (Beit She'an) is located at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley.   The city was founded in the Late Neolithic or Early Chalcolitic Period (sixth to fifth millennia BCE).  In the Biblical account of the battle of the Israelites against the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, the bodies of King Saul and three of his sons were hung on the walls of Beit She'an.  In Roman times, after Pompey annexed Judea to the Roman Empire,  Beit She'an was refounded and rebuilt by Gabinius. The town center shifted from the summit of the mound, or tell, to its slopes. Thereafter, it became the leading city of the Decapolis, a league of Judean cities, and was the only Decapolis city west of the Jordan River.  

The city flourished under the "Pax Romana", as evidenced by high-level urban planning and extensive construction, including the best preserved Roman theatre of ancient Samaria, as well as a hippodrome, a cardo and other trademarks of Roman influence. Mount Gilboa, 7 km (4 mi) away, provided dark basalt blocks, as well as water (via an aqueduct) to the town. Beit She'an is said to have sided with the Romans during the Jewish uprising of 66 CE. Excavations have focused less on the Roman period ruins, so not much is known about this time. The University of Pennsylvania's excavation of the northern cemetery, however, did uncover significant finds. The Roman period tombs are of the loculus type: a rectangular rock-cut spacious chamber with smaller chambers (loculi) cut into its side. Bodies were placed directly in the loculi, or inside sarcophagi which were placed in the loculi. A sarcophagus with an inscription identifying its occupant in Greek as "Antiochus, the son of Phallion", may have held the cousin of Herod the Great.

Copious archaeological remains found dating to the Byzantine period (330–636 CE) were excavated from 1921–23. Beit She'an was primarily Christian during this period, as attested to by the large number of churches, but evidence of Jewish habitation and a Samaritan synagogue indicate established communities of these minorities. The pagan temple in the city centre was destroyed during this period, but the nymphaeum and Roman baths were restored. However, many of the buildings of Scythopolis were damaged in the Galilee earthquake of 363 CE, although by 409 CE it still became the capital of the northern district, Palaestina Secunda.

Image: Sarcophagus from the northern cemetery, tomb 202 A, Iron Age IA, 1200-1150 BCE that I photographed at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia. 

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Will Underground Rome Be Visitor Friendly?

I'm glad more of "hidden" Rome is opening to the public - just unfortunate that it didn't happen by the time of my visit in March. I can't help but wonder, though, if these new visitor viewing opportunities are motivated more by commercial interest rather than a desire to share cultural heritage.

[Image: 2nd century CE guardroom. Image courtesy of Times Online]

I was dismayed by the number of "admission" gates that have sprung up all over Rome since my first visit in 2005. Even the Forum Romanum is gated now - the symbolic gathering place for the Res Publica since ancient times. I realize conserving antiquities is expensive but some efforts to milk the tourists have really gotten to the point of ridiculous. The new museum encompassing Trajan's market has but a handful of artifacts on display but commands an admission price equal to that of the Capitoline Museum. I guess they have to pay for the new glass-doored elevator that takes people down to the lower level of the market. But most of the market was visible from the street before and the new visitor viewing areas don't let you get much closer now. I was also disappointed with the Archaeobus. The sound system for the little ear buds was so poor you couldn't hear anything above the road noise. The bus careened through the streets at a speed that made appreciation of the drive a challenge. Buses were scheduled 30 minutes apart which made coordination difficult when tours of the catacombs themselves took 30 minutes, so by the time you emerged you just missed the next bus and had to spend a lot of time waiting. The buses did not stop at each venue. You had to be prepared to buzz the driver if you wished to disembark and, if no one was standing by the bus sign, the buses just roared by. I realize this is how city buses often operate but this method is not visitor friendly for tourists who don't know exactly where to get off or are participating in tours at some of the venues.

When I was in York several years ago, I used the hop-on hop-off bus there and enjoyed the convenience and the friendly conversation of the bus driver who pointed out historical sites along the way. The drivers watched for tourists who appeared to be headed for the bus stop even if they had not yet made it and waited a few minutes. The buses were also about 15 minutes apart so even if you missed one bus you didn't have to stand around too long waiting for the next. The operators of the Archaeobus would do well to discuss service issues with the operators of the hop-on hop-off bus in York.

"Visitors to Rome will soon be able to discover a world of ancient treasures beneath their feet when the city opens dozens of previously unseen underground sites to the public.

They include the Ludus Magnus, the barracks beneath the Colosseum where gladiators assembled before entering the great arena to meet their fate; the well-preserved necropolis of Santa Rosa at the Vatican, with tombs from the 1st to the 5th centuries, and pagan temples.

Tourists can also explore the frescoed 2nd century Temple of Mithras, the pagan cult, beneath the 17th Century Palazzo Barberini, which houses one of Rome’s foremost art collections.

Francesco Marcolini, the head of Zetema, the cultural foundation in charge of the project, said that next year 15 more underground sites would be added, including a Jewish necropolis in the grounds of Villa Torlonia, formerly the Rome residence of Benito Mussolini, the Fascist dictator.- More: Times Online

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