Ventimiglia, the Roman necropolis yields new sarcophagi

In the northern area of the walls of ancient Albintimilium, in Ventimiglia, a new phase of excavation has brought to light two more sarcophagi in Finale stone. With these latest finds, the total number of sarcophagi identified at the site rises to twelve. The investigations, conducted by the Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri, have so far covered an area of over three hundred square metres, in which more than sixty tombs of different types have been recorded: a collection that offers a cross-section of the funerary practices of the Roman city and its late antique phase.

The mayor of Ventimiglia, Flavio Di Muro, commented on the finds, describing the site as a heritage that is continually growing: “The history of Ventimiglia continues to give us evidence of extraordinary value”.

The necropolis is part of the broader urban layout of Albintimilium, a Roman municipium that in the imperial age represented a hub along the western Ligurian coast. The variety of the burials — from stone sarcophagi to simpler types of tombs — suggests a social and chronological stratification of the cemetery area, which archaeologists are reconstructing excavation after excavation. The material used for the sarcophagi, Finale stone, came from quarries in western Liguria and was widely used in Roman times for funerary artefacts of a certain value, a sign that at least some of those buried in the area belonged to social groups able to afford the cost.

It should be noted that the news currently comes from a single source, the account released by the Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri and the Municipality of Ventimiglia: at present there is no independent confirmation of the details of the excavation campaign, nor a precise dating of the different phases of use of the burial ground.

The site remains open: with twelve sarcophagi and more than sixty tombs already documented over an area of three hundred square metres, the overall extent of the necropolis has not yet been defined, and the Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri has not yet indicated a date for the conclusion of the campaign.