A Gladiator’s Marble-Etched Epitaph Is Found in an Ancient Roman Necropolis
The graveyard of Liternum, near Naples, was in use between the first century B.C.E. and the third century C.E.
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Over 2,200 years ago, the Republic of Rome founded a colony called Liternum on Italy’s west coast, just north of present-day Naples. Once home to Cornelius Scipio Africanus, a famed Roman general who defeated Hannibal, the former port city is now an archaeological park, and its ruins include a forum, temple, amphitheater and various burials, including those of Scipio Africanus and—as researchers recently discovered—at least one gladiator.
According to a translated statement by Naples’ Superintendent of Archaeology, Fine arts and Landscape, an excavation led by archaeologist Simona Formola recently unearthed two embellished tombs in Liternum’s necropolis, as well as many smaller burials.
The two decorated funerary enclosures were once covered in white plaster and painted red. They’re separated by a “very deep” stone well, which may have served a ritualistic purpose, per the statement. One of the enclosures contains a square mausoleum measuring almost 100 square feet. The structure is made of opus reticulatum—bricks laid in a diamond pattern—and contains a volcanic rock called tuff: details suggesting high status individuals were buried here, as Artnet News’ Richard Whiddington reports. Inside the mausoleum, niches were cut into the plaster, likely to hold funerary urns spanning generations.
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Surrounding the enclosures in the Liternum necropolis are some 20 other burials, including cappuccina tombs—simple burials reserved for lower-class ancient Romans. Cappuccina tombs were typically made of clay roof tiles, arranged to form a peaked enclosure over the deceased. The necropolis also contains enchytrismos burials, in which a body is buried inside a large ceramic jug, and some well-crafted, rectangular tombs made of bricks.
One of the Liternum necropolis’ graves is marked by a slab of engraved marble: It indicates the deceased was a gladiator, one of the many slaves or criminals forced to fight and die for the entertainment of ancient Romans in amphitheaters like the Colosseum. A few gladiators rose to prominence—like Spartacus, who led a slave rebellion against the republic—but most of these men were simply expendable pieces of entertainment for Rome. As the local official writes on Facebook, the recently discovered epitaph is a “rare and touching testimony to the memory of these fighters” in Roman society.
Based on the burial structures and artifacts found in the Liternum graves—like coins, lamps and small vases—researchers believe the cemetery was used between the latter first century B.C.E. and the third century C.E. This era aligns with the onset of Rome’s Imperial period, which began with the rise of Augustus, the first Roman emperor, around 27 B.C.E. Within the next few centuries, the Roman Empire reached peak power and expansiveness.
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Another significant discovery in the Liternum graveyard came last year, when Formola’s team opened its “Tomb of Cerberus” and discovered frescoes depicting not only the eponymous “Hound of Hades,” but also marine centaurs. The necropolis has illuminated ancient Roman funerary practices, according to the superintendent.
