Excavations resume at Cumae, a face resurfaces in the necropolis

The 2026 excavation campaign has officially begun within the Porta Mediana necropolis at Cumae, one of the most significant archaeological sites in the Phlegraean area. This was reported by Il Mattino.

Among the first results of the new campaign is the recovery of a terracotta fragment bearing, in relief, a bearded male face. According to reports, it is probably a portion of a decorative applique or the handle of a fine vessel: the exact nature of the original object therefore remains a working hypothesis for the research team, not a definitive finding.

The excavation and study activities are coordinated by the Archaeological Park of the Phlegraean Fields together with the Italian Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Centre Jean Bérard, a French research institute active in Naples. This Italian-French collaboration places the Cumae campaign within an international research network that has for years worked on the sites of the ancient Greek colony, one of the oldest settlements on the Campania coast.

The discovery of the fragment with the relief face fits into a broader excavation context, that of the necropolis, a funerary area which by its nature provides archaeologists not only with isolated objects but also with insights into the ritual practices and material culture of the community that used it. The campaign, just begun, leaves open the possibility of further finds in the coming weeks of fieldwork.

The Porta Mediana excavation site thus joins the calendar of active archaeological research in Italy this autumn, confirming the ongoing scientific interest in the Phlegraean Fields area and in the material traces of Greek presence in Campania.