Posted on 12/06/2005 1:06:37 PM PST by blam
Untouched Roman sarcophagi found
Rare burial trove dates back to Imperial times
(ANSA) - Rome, December 6 - Italian archaeologists have found a remarkable trove of five untouched Roman sarcophagi in a burial vault outside Rome .
"It's really rare to find so many sarcophagi that have never been profaned or even opened - as can be seen by the intact lead clasps on their edges," said the head of the dig, Stefano Musco .
He said the sarcophagi dated from the II century AD and probably contained the remains of the wealthy residents of a villa that once stood in the area - now a building site on Rome's north-eastern outskirts .
All the sarcophagi are marble and all decorated, leading archaeologists to suppose they could have been made for a prominent aristocratic family .
One of them is much smaller than the others and believed to contain the remains of a small child .
The largest sarcophagus is decorated with lion's head masks and a central relief showing a reclining couple - a motif that dates back to Etruscan times.
Rome anthropologist Paola Catalano said she hoped the skeletons and funerary objects would provide information on burial rites and the lifestyles and social position of the dead, "even though the acidity of the terrain and rainwater has already corroded the marble." The sarcophagi will be moved to the Museo Nazionale Romano at Diocletian's Baths, while the burial site will be preserved as a green area .
The apartment buildings that were to have gone up over the tombs will be moved to a nearby site
GGG Ping.
Did they touch it when they found it? Enquiring minds want to know.
Maybe scientists can clone ancient Romans from the remains!
Wonder if there are any religious artifacts buried inside those sarcophagi.
Ilove this stuff!
Wasn't Bill Clinton cloned from Caligula?
Did it have a Gouaould in it?
Roman ping, pumpkin.
Why would we want to do that? I'm sure you know
what passed as fun and games for the average Roman.
"Is Greek word!" Actually, two Greek words, in Latinized form. The "sarco-" part means "flesh," and "phag" comes from the verb, "to eat." So a "sarcophagus" is a place where . . . the flesh is eaten.
Rome anthropologist Paola Catalano said she hoped the skeletons and funerary objects would provide information on burial rites and the lifestyles and social position of the dead, "even though the acidity of the terrain and rainwater has already corroded the marble." The sarcophagi will be moved to the Museo Nazionale Romano at Diocletian's Baths, while the burial site will be preserved as a green area .
So they are going to profane and open the grave then?
"Wasn't Bill Clinton cloned from Caligula?"
Nah, he was cloned from the Emperor Tiberius, who according to Suetonius, gave depravity a bad name.
" I always thought he was cloned from "Incitatus".
From cells in the "south end".
LOL! Great one!
Thought Hitlery had "done away" with that oddball piece of info....
So they are going to loot these tombs? Oh, I understand its in the interest of "science". I guess thats okay.
Tibillious Grabbass.
No, wait, it had to be Caligula, because like him, Bill made his horse a Senator!
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