ABSTRACT
The Vatican, in Roman times, was located on the Etruscan bank of the River Tiber and was very far from the city proper. Famous for its clay quarries and the poor quality of its wine, the Vatican did, in fact, house some great parks, both private and imperial, including the gardens where the emperor Caligula built his circus and where Nero later had the Christians who were accused of causing the Great Fire of Rome of 64 A.D. executed. Adjacent to the circus were the Horti Domitiae, where the emperor Hadrian built his majestic mausoleum, known as Castel Sant’Angelo. As in all marginal areas, the paths that crossed the Vatican—Via Triumphalis to Veio (now Isola Farnese), Via Cornelia-Aurelia to Caere (now Cerveteri)—were skirted with tombs of all kinds, many of which have been discovered in the current area of Vatican City. The Necropolis along the Via Triumphalis is of great significance in the context of the rich archaeological heritage of the city of Rome. In fact, there exists no other equally vast and varied complex of tombs representing lower and middle Rome. More frequently we find imperial tombs, the noble tombs of the Via Appia but not the tombs of common people. There, it is possible to observe a wide variety of burial customs, ranging from the poorest cremation in wooden urns to lavish sarcophagi of the middle to upper strata of society, with tombs adorned with frescoes and mosaics. Scenes of daily life can be observed from one burial site to another: thus we find Alcimus, slave of emperor Nero assigned to the scenes of the Theatre of Pompeus in Rome; Tiberius Claudius Optatus, archivist of the imperial accounts; Clement, the horseman of the “faction of the Azures” who could have competed several times in the nearby circus, as well as many others. Recent excavations, carried out between 2009 and 2011 in the central area of the Necropolis and currently visible, have linked the sectors of the “Autoparco” (1956-1958 excavations) and Santa Rosa (excavations 2003), which were previously separated. Among the important finds of the excavations was a designated area for the cremations (ustrina), rarely preserved in complexes of this type. This area is a veritable laboratory for archaeological research. Several scientific investigations and assessments are underway, such as prospecting with geo-radar and anthropological analysis. These last analyses were performed by Prof. Henri Duday of the University of Bordeaux; cremations were studied in collaboration with the Ecole Française de Rome, and the burials in collaboration with the service of Anthropology of the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Rome, coordinated by Dr. Paola Catalano. Restoration and conservation aspects certainly have a primary role in the work that continues on the archaeological site. The monitoring as well as chemical and optical analysis inside the museum area enable us to verify climate changes and any damage to graves and preserved artefacts. At the same time, new technologies such as laser cleaning are being used and new methodologies of bio-restoration are being tested.
