Chamber tomb in Via Pio XII

Discovered in 1956 and linked to other burials of different types, including a sarcophagus, the Chamber Tomb in Via Pio XII is undoubtedly one of the most interesting funerary monuments of the Magno-Greek Taranto.

The sepulchral compartment, which was accessed through a dromos (corridor) with nine steps dug directly into the rock, is characterized by the elegance of the architectural solutions adopted and by the remarkable state of conservation.

Through the restoration of the fragments found at the time of the discovery, it was possible to reconstruct the double-leaf stone door that closed the funeral chamber, made in imitation of the wooden doors and currently preserved within the museum space.

The small internal compartment, originally finished at the top by a molded frame, still retains traces of the pictorial wall decoration consisting of bands in red and blue and garlands and festoons suspended from yellow ribbons.

On the side there are the two well visible stone funeral beds (klinai) with shaped cushions and obvious traces of color on which the bodies of the deceased were placed, almost certainly wrapped in shrouds.

Inside the space there was the funeral kit: a series of functional or ritual objects that could have been useful in the afterlife.

The rich and refined decoration of the hypogeum was embellished with a remarkable coffered ceiling, carved in stone and painted, of which some large rosette elements are preserved; they are striking for the skill of the artistic execution.

The hypogeum was found already violated. Among the fragmentary materials recovered during the excavation and study operations, there were elements of the grave goods that were not recognized with certainty. Due to the structural characteristics and the type of decoration, the tomb can be dated with all probability in the first decades of the III century B.C.

The urban location of the structure (in the immediate vicinity of one of the main roads of the Greek city) as well as the important decorative apparatus, suggest us it was a tomb that belonged to an aristocratic family of that time.