MONTE CARNALE IN THE CONFINES OF AGER NOMENTANUS
The hill of Monte Carnale, today in the village of Santa Lucia in the municipality of Fonte Nuova, represented the southern limit of the ager Nomentanus, a place with residential character, far from the urban center proper.
In the 1940s and 1950s, during agricultural work for land allocation, many ancient testimonies were brought to light, some of which are shown in this section and come from the numerous villas or small estates that were to emerge.
The wealth of archaeological materials found allows us to attribute these residences to individuals with good economic resources and attracted by the fertility of the nomentano territory.
In 1954, on the land of Mr. Raffaelli, a truly extraordinary discovery occurred. It is the rich burial of a young woman deposited inside the marble sarcophagus exposed here and lived in the second half of the 2nd century AD.
The discoverers, who were working on agricultural excavation work, found themselves in front of a completely intact sarcophagus, still closed by its cap fixed with four lead staples. Despite the careful lock, for centuries water had penetrated into the interior, allowing the exceptional preservation of the deposition: an intact corpse wrapped in a white robe embroidered with gold and adorned with a personal outfit with gold necklace and garnet and gold ring.
The jewels were immediately recovered and the sarcophagus was emptied of water, destroying that internal microclimate which had favored the exceptional state of conservation: Thus the corpse underwent a rapid and total disintegration and also disappeared the white robe that enveloped it.
After the intervention of the Superintendence, the sarcophagus was left in storage at the City Council of Mentana, while the valuable items of equipment became part of the collection of the National Museum of Rome and are now visible in the Medallion installed inside the Palazzo Massimo.
- The necklace, in perfect condition, consists of 23 light red garnets, one of the most beloved precious stones of the Romans for its vivid color. The garnets, in drop form, are encapsulated in a thin layer of clear gold foil.
- The gold ring is characterized by a singular castone that makes a unique piece: a plate of rock crystal surprising subtlety, on which is glued a small gold applique Representing a leopard with open mouth and tongue
- Remains of gold threads witness to the embroidered golden bands on the white dress of the young woman.