A near life-sized funerary relief of a couple emerged during an archaeological excavation at a monumental tomb in the Porta Sarno necropolis of Pompeii. The two high-relief sculptures were transferred to the Great Gymnasium of the excavations to begin restoration and will be among the prominent exhibits in the exhibition Being a Woman in Ancient Pompeii, which opens on April 16, 2025.
The appearance of the sculpture is part of the research project Investigating the Archaeology of Death in Pompeii, conducted by the Universitat de València in collaboration with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, under the direction of Professor Llorenç Alapont. “This campaign represents a valuable opportunity to expand research activities and enhance the value of the area outside the walls of Pompeii,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
Recent investigations revealed a monumental tomb in the Porta Sarno necropolis, consisting of a large wall with several niches topped by a relief depicting two figures, possibly a couple with a strong social presence in Pompeian society of the time. The quality of the carving and the archaic features of the sculptures suggest a dating to the late Republican period of Rome, spanning from the late 2nd century BCE to 27 BCE.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the discovery is the symbolism of the sculpted elements accompanying the female figure in the relief. The carved accessories may identify her as a priestess of Ceres, indicating her involvement in the religious sphere of Pompeii. Ceres was the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and maternal relationships in ancient Roman religion.
At the feet of the male statue, archaeologists found a preserved root of an ancient tree. This detail adds to the significance of the relief, providing further context to the funerary practices and beliefs of the time. Alapont emphasized the importance of the discovery in understanding funerary practices and the social identity of the deceased in Pompeii, a city buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE.
Thanks to multidisciplinary work involving archaeologists, architects, restorers, and anthropologists, it was possible to recover and analyze with great precision the remains found in the Porta Sarno necropolis. The area where the relief was found, investigated since July 2024, corresponds to a zone previously excavated in the 1990s for the construction of the double track of the Circumvesuviana railway.
In excavations in 1998, archaeologists documented the presence of more than 50 cremation burials in the Porta Sarno necropolis, marked with stelae and a large funerary arch. The late Republican period is a key moment in Roman history when local elites reinforced their identity through imposing funerary monuments.
Visitors to the exhibition Being a Woman in Ancient Pompeii will be able to observe the delicate restoration work being conducted during the exhibition. The initial analyses and conclusions were published in the E-Journal of the Excavations of Pompeii. In this publication, the team led by Alapont presented its hypotheses regarding the identity of the figures represented in the relief and the funerary context in which they were found.
Zuchtriegel highlighted the importance of collaboration with the Universitat de València, noting that this partnership facilitated a multidisciplinary project involving specialists. Ester Alba, the vice-rector of the Universitat de València, expressed her satisfaction with the collaboration with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and the results obtained in the excavations.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.