LBV Magazine English Edition During improvement works on the Diramazione Nocera-Cava dei Tirreni gas pipeline in the municipalities of Nocera Superiore and Castel San Giorgio (province of Salerno an impressive archaeological legacy has come to light spanning from the Bronze Age to Late Antiquity the result of meticulous research conducted over two years have been made possible through the collaboration between the company SoGEArch srls the Archaeological Superintendency of Salerno and Avellino Among the most striking discoveries are human and animal footprints from the Bronze Age near the Casarzano stream preserved in the pyroclastic deposits from eruptions of the Somma-Vesuvius tell the dramatic story of the terrified inhabitants fleeing the volcano’s violence the investigations revealed the existence of an ancient settlement dating back to the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age (1200/1150–900 BCE) From the Hellenistic period (3rd–2nd centuries BCE) an extra-urban sanctuary near Nuceria Alfaterna was uncovered Among the recovered objects were miniaturized ceramics the area hosted two monumental complexes identified as rustic villas dedicated to agricultural production The identification of plow marks at various points on the site evidences intense agricultural activity which was the foundation of the local economy These villas functioned not only as production centers but also as integral parts of an extensive regional trade network A notable aspect of the research is the reconstruction of the road network connecting Nuceria to its surroundings ranging from simple compacted earth tracks to more elaborate ones with cartwheel marks The transition from the Roman period to Late Antiquity is reflected in a set of tombs found in the area lined and covered with tuff slabs decorated with engravings primarily contained the remains of children accompanied by simple grave goods a Roman rustic villa was repurposed as a cemetery demonstrating the adaptation of structures for new uses a monumental sepulcher with a sarcophagus stands out likely belonging to a high-ranking individual along with an adjacent underground structure that may have been a martyrium a place of worship dedicated to Christian martyrs the area was inhabited by communities that built large huts reminiscent of protohistoric dwellings likely influenced by socio-economic changes reflects the resilience and adaptability of these communities to historical transformations The collection of findings demonstrates the continuous use of the territory over millennia from the earliest human footprints to the societal adaptations in Late Antiquity Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Salerno e Avellino Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email Archaeologists from universities in the United States and Denmark found deep within the Actun Uayazba Kab cave in Belize two small stone tools dated between 250 and 900 AD that… men and women gathered to play a game called Cuju A team of researchers has succeeded in recreating for the first time in a laboratory experiment a phenomenon that until now only existed as a theory in the realm of… the Cantonal Archaeology of Aargau carried out a rescue excavation between early May 2024 and the end of March 2025 The Egyptian archaeological mission affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced the discovery of a group of defensive structures and a system of moats that could indicate… In the southeastern area of the city of Rome archaeologists excavating inside the Triton Baths within the monumental complex of the Villa di Sette… Why did some animals from ancient eras become fossils while others simply disappeared without a trace A recent study on the cave paintings of the Altamira Cave in Santillana del Mar Cantabria (Spain) has concluded that some of the artworks it contains could be much older… A team of paleontologists from the University of Leicester has managed to decipher one of the many enigmas of the dinosaur era—the exact moment when pterosaurs Rome achieved numerous military victories that allowed it to grow and dominate nearly the entire known world in Antiquity Receive our news and articles in your email for free You can also support us with a monthly subscription and receive exclusive content THE NECROPOLIS AND THE PLASTER CASTS OF THE VICTIMS OF THE ERUPTIONAt the entrance of Piazza Anfiteatro by walking along the path through the greenery flanked by the ancient tombs of the cemetery of Porta Nocera like so many other similar ones in Pompeii It is a display area of several plaster casts of victims of the eruption discovered close to the ancient gate of Porta di Nocera now that the maintenance and restoration work has been completed are once again accessible thanks to the interventions designed to upgrade and enhance the route that enables visitors to get close to the display area it is possible to contemplate the details which while seemingly being just forms made of plaster turn out on closer inspection to match the moving description provided by the writer Luigi Settembrini during the nineteenth century: “They have been dead for eighteen centuries but they are human beings who can be observed in all their agony the remains of their flesh and their clothes mixed with plaster: it is the pain of death that regains form and substance.” The city gate faced in the direction of the ancient city of Nuceria (where the present-day towns of Nocera Inferiore and Nocera Superiore are now situated) The whole area was brought to light during the excavations carried out in May 1952 by Amadeo Maiuri as part of a much broader programme that aimed to free up the whole of the city walls from a large part of the backfill that still covered them during work designed to shore up the front of the excavated area a group of four victims and the remains of a structure for muliones (mule drivers) were found in the area between Via delle Tombe and the city walls in the north-western sector plaster casts were made of the victims using the technique developed by the archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli in the nineteenth century consists in pouring liquid plaster into the cavities found in the bank of hardened ash where archaeologists identify voids caused by the decomposition of the soft organic tissue form and position of the object or body buried there are recreated only one lies in the original position where it was discovered lying face down with his legs spread apart The cast was left in its original position directly on the layer of lapilli Two other victims were discovered not far from here between Porta Nocera and Torre II (Tower II) of the city’s fortifications: an adolescent lying on his left side his legs bent forwards with traces of a tunic on his back and on his belly and the soles of his sandals and an adult lying on his right side with his arms and legs bent traces of a tunic and the sole of the left sandal The last plaster cast of this group was a boy aged between 7 and 19 years old initially interpreted by Maiuri as an old man who preserves the imprint of thin fabric on his chin which can be identified by a swelling on the left side of the victim have led to the suggestion that the person was a beggar “The plaster casts of the victims reveal the agony of the people who died during the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 a few decades after the facts that we commemorate in this Easter period” adds Gabriel Zuchtriegel the Park Director “They represent an invitation to remember that beyond the chocolate eggs we find in every possible size and colour in the supermarkets there is a story of men and women that has been handed down to us and that Pompeii can help us to understand this world in which many elements of our culture have their roots the evidence for the new faith is scant and ambiguous but the city does offer us an image of the life of the less affluent inhabitants often mentioned in the Gospels of which a copy is on display in the exhibition "L'altra Pompei" (The Other Pompeii) currently being held in Palestra Grande The maintenance and restoration work carried out on the plaster casts of Porta Nocera have sought to make the area accessible to the public in order to re-enhance one of the historic displays created by Maiuri the activities concern the establishment of a safe means of access to the site a new arrangement of the display layout with the addition of new iron handrails and interventions designed to lighten the existing protective panels by eliminating the grilles that restricted the view of the works The only part of the panels that has been left is the metal framework used to fit the new ultra-clear entire safe glass to ensure a better overall view of the whole area and the details of the bodies Special attention has been devoted to the plaster casts which had been severely damaged by the unusual display area; the direct contact with the terrain on which they lie the primary terrain in one case and the secondary terrain in the others had led to deterioration due to rising damp The conservation work was therefore designed to isolate the plaster casts preventing direct contact with the underlying terrain by means of a complex operation that involved inserting an insulating honeycomb panel made of aluminium between the plaster cast and the terrain on which it lies the maintenance was strictly necessary to ensure constant care to resolve the conservational problems that are inherent to an archaeological context LINK VIDEO https://we.tl/t-kPFQXnSXtm