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In a fascinating development at civic number 39 of the Appian Way, just a short stroll from the Tomb of Geta, an excavation is currently underway by the University of Ferrara in an area of this ancient road that had never been explored before. This region marked the boundary of the ancient city of Rome, making it a particularly significant find.
Archaeologists have unearthed a necropolis and a columbarium in this vicinity. Today, they excitedly turned over a marble slab, meticulously squared on its sides, which strongly suggested the presence of a funerary epigraph on the other side, concealed within the neatly structured parallelepiped. With bated breath, they flipped the slab, revealing inscriptions that originally belonged to a tomb, later disassembled during the ancient refurbishment of the columbarium and likely repurposed during those early restoration projects.
The inscription is attributed to a tomb that a Roman woman commissioned for herself and her son. Archaeologists will soon provide a reading of the epigraph.
The archaeological site at 39 Via Appia Antica is situated within the Archaeological Park of the Appian Way, just outside the Aurelian Walls. It lies shortly beyond the Almone, in proximity to the Tomb of Geta, and not far from Porta San Sebastiano. It is even believed that the Temple of Mars Gradivus might have once stood in this area, marking the boundaries of ancient Rome.
Interestingly, the civic number 39 area is not far from the spot where, in the early days of 2023, a life-sized statue of Hercules was discovered. The archaeological site at Via Appia 39 boasts several unique characteristics, as Professor Dubbini explains, “In this location, the ancient phases have remained intact, just as they were in Roman times. In this sense, we might say it resembles a miniature Pompeii.”
The ongoing excavations in this part of the Appian Way are shedding new light on the history and culture of ancient Rome, providing invaluable insights into the lives of its inhabitants. With more discoveries anticipated in the near future, the story of this remarkable site continues to unfold.
