Southern Italian Burial May Have Belonged to a Priestess

MANDURIA, ITALY—According to the Greek Reporter, a rock-cut tomb uncovered in southern Italy’s Archaeological Park of the Messapian Walls may have held the remains of a priestess of Demeter, the ancient Greek goddess of agriculture and fertility. The inside of the 2,200-year-old tomb was painted with a sanctuary key, geometric patterns, a repeated decorative border, a ritual incense burner, and an inscription written in Messapic, a language spoken in southeastern Italy before the Roman conquest. A second inscription was found nearby on a stone slab. To read about a temple possibly dedicated to the Greek Poseidon at the ancient city of Paestum, go to “Sea God’s Sanctum.”