© E. Lupoli, Jean Bérard Centre (CNRS/École française de Rome)
Posted on 09/30/2018 2:34:59 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
...the latest discovery to surface in the archaeological dig they have led since 2001: a painted tomb from the 2nd century B.C. In excellent condition, the tomb depicts a banquet scene, fixed by pigments.
Twice the size of Pompeii, the ancient city of Cumae is located 25 km west of Naples on the Tyrrhenian Sea facing the island of Ischia, at the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park. Ancient historians considered Cumae the oldest Ancient Greek settlement in the western world. Founded in the latter half of the 8th century B.C. by Greeks from Euboea, the settlement grew quickly and prospered over time.
...Among the hundreds of ancient sepulchres unearthed since 2001, they have discovered a series of vaulted burial chambers made of tuff, a volcanic stone found in the area. People entered the tomb through a door in the façade sealed with a large stone block. The space inside was generally composed of a chamber with three vaults or funerary beds. The tombs were raided in the 19th century, but recovered remains and traces of funerary furnishings, which archaeologists have used to date the tombs to the second century B.C., indicate the high social status of those buried within.
Until now, only tombs painted red or white had been found, but in June 2018 researchers discovered a room with exceptionally executed figure painting. A naked servant carrying a jug of wine and a vase is still visible; the banquet's guests are thought to have been painted on the side walls...
To preserve the fresco, archaeologists removed it, along with fragments found on the ground, in order to re-assemble the décor like a puzzle.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.cnrs.fr ...
© E. Lupoli, Jean Bérard Centre (CNRS/École française de Rome)
Shame it was looted. The finds might have been magnificent.
If that is a list you blast out to on these subjects, can you add me to the list please?
Nice...thank you for posting!
Can you please add me to this ping list? Thanks.
Nothing compared to the looting in Egypt in the 19th and early 20th centuries were the tool of choice was dynamite.
amazing! adding to my visit list
My pleasure!
Sounds like a fun trip!
The Ghost of Greek Dinners Past says: “I see Souvlaki and Pasticchio, Fava beans, Baklava and a fine Cianti!”
The looting of Egypt was minimal in modern times, excluding the local yokels, who didn't use dynamite. Ancient Egypt's first looters were the ancient Egyptians themselves (first the pharaohs with their absolutism and aggrandizement, then the hoi polloi during periods of chaos); the Great Pyramid was open to tourists during classical antiquity, then closed up by the Byzantines, then chipped into by the nimrods who worked for the muzzie caliphs. One all-Egyptian village had a centuries-long secret looting thing that was finally detected and busted up by modern Egyptologists. Egyptologists also caught the local creeps who'd discovered the cache of New Kingdom pharaonic mummies and had planned to loot it out to the bare walls.
By contrast, the Etruscan excavations by the French in Italy (some relative of Napoleon III, if memory serves) dug up wonderful vases and other formerly unknown ceramics and other artifacts. They were selling the artifacts into the open market (mostly in Europe). The excavators had what should have been considered a great day -- a site yielded over 20,000 intact ceramic pieces such as jugs and urns, all nicely decorated. For fear the market for the Etruscan art would collapse, he ordered all of it smashed.
Welcome to the Gods, Graves, Glyphs ping list!
Probably wound up in museums or private collections. Once in a while there’s an intact discovery.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1880684/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3097740/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3408014/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3368886/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3662190/posts
and
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3692248/posts?page=12#12
Well we thought our culture was depraved at least naked waiters aren’t the norm
One of the workers got married and since the custom was to smash dishes in celebration they used the artifacts.
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