Roman Cemetery Discovered in Central Italy

TUSCANIA, ITALY—According to a Live Science report, the remains of 67 people have been unearthed at the site of a Roman cemetery in central Italy near the site of a possible mansio, a hotel-like villa where officials could stop and rest while traveling on government business. Archaeologist Emanuele Giannini said that historical sources mention a mansio in the same area called Tabellaria. Gold jewelry, remains of leather footwear, pottery, and coins have been recovered from the site, which has been dated to between the second and fourth centuries A.D. Some of the graves were built in the cappuccina style, in which the burial was covered with stones or ceramic tiles arranged in an A-frame shape. Other remains were buried in large ceramic vessels. Evidence of a few cremation burials was also uncovered. Giannini and his colleagues are now working to analyze the remains. “Discovering who they were is part of my research,” he said. To read about a subterranean Jewish necropolis in Rome, go to "Letter from Rome: Secrets of the Catacombs."