The Palaeochristian necropolis

The Palaeochristian necropolis extends over the Collina dei Templi ('Hill of Temples') between the Temple of Juno and the Temple of Heracles. This large cemeterial area was used between the 3rd and the 6th centuries A.D. and was articulated into different sectors: an area with burials (loculi and arcosolia) cut into the walls of the Greek fortifications; a large open cemetery area with over 130 pit burials dug into the rock (formae); a large communal catacomb called 'Grotta Fragapane' with contiguous hypogea destined to individual family groups and many smaller hypogea, often created by re-using underground cisterns or stone quarries.

The necropolis is well planned and organized, given that all the structures within it are aligned along a grid system and, in particular, along the main road on the west-east axis called "via dei sepolcri" ('avenue of the tombs'), which intersects to the west and to the east, respectively: a road from the gymnasium and a road from the Romano-Hellenistic quarter.

In the vicinity of the latter of these roads is the ritual complex of Villa Athena, where many marbles (probably originating from an urban church) have been found, including a relief from the end of the 8th or the beginning of the 9th centuries A.D. This find confirms that Christians were present in the Valley until the Arab conquest.

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Testo di: Valentina Calì
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