The Esquiline Necropolis (Necropoli dell'Esquilino) was the main and most extensive protohistoric necropolis of ancient Rome on the Esquiline Hill. Now an archaeological site, it was used primarily from the early Iron Age (9th–8th century BCE) through the Republican period until the end of the 1st century CE.
It was located primarily covering the modern day area of Piazza San Martino ai Monti, extending along the axis of Via dello Statuto, and encompassing Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, particularly near the Church of Sant'Eusebio and the Arch of San Vito (Porta Esquilina). Later fourth century BCE Servian Wall ran through the ancient cemetery.
The Esquiline Necropolis served as one of the primary burial sites of early Rome, preceding the establishment of formalized cemeteries outside the city walls following the Servian reforms. Archaeological excavations have uncovered grave goods, including pottery, metalwork, and personal adornments, which provide insights into the social stratification and material culture of early Roman society. The necropolis was eventually abandoned and built over as Rome expanded, with significant parts of it being incorporated into elite residential areas and imperial gardens by the late Republic and early Empire.
circa 900 BCE- 100 CE
The use of the Esquiline Necropolis began when the ancient necropolis in the Roman Forum was abandoned in the second half of the 8th century BCE, except for infant burials (suggrundaria), which continued until the late 7th century BCE. This change reflects Rome’s expansion toward the Velia and the Forum. The necropolis was located along the ancient Servian Wall, mainly covering the area of Piazza San Martino ai Monti, extending along the axis of Via dello Statuto, and including Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, particularly near the Church of Sant’Eusebio and the Arch of San Vito (Porta Esquilina).
The site is marked by the presence of richer grave goods and a higher number of weapons, showing the rise of an aristocratic-warrior class similar to those already seen along the Tyrrhenian coast, particularly in Etruria and Campania. The burials include examples from Phase IIB and, more commonly, from the third period of the Latial culture. The grave goods from this phase feature vases with more compressed shapes instead of rounder forms, bifora handles with double holes, taller and more elongated profiles, and ribbed decorations instead of earlier graffito or stamped patterns.
The necropolis remained in use until the second half of the first century BCE, when the site was reclaimed between 42 and 38 BCE, possibly following a large burial. This transformation was led by Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (68-8 BCE), a close advisor and friend of Augustus (27-14 CE), who turned the area into a luxurious suburban villa, the Horti Maecenatis. This marked the final stage in the site's history as it was absorbed into the expanding city of Rome and repurposed for elite residences.
circa 800-750 BCE
Tomb 33
Found in 1885 in via Giovanni Lanza, presumably in a pit, it belonged to a male individual due to the presence of a spearhead placed in its possession. The latter is distinguished by the presence of two net-shaped urns that seem to depend on similar shapes of impasto vases typical of the Rome-Colli Albani I phase, although they present characteristics of lesser antiquity (presence of four protrusions on the ceramic vessel or object). It can be dated to phase IIB of the Lazio culture.
circa 800-750 BCE
Tomb 51
Pit tomb designated "Tomb 51" found in 1885 CE on via Giovanni Lanza. It contained the skeleton of a female individual (as indicated by the presence of a necklace of glass beads in the grave goods), of which only part of the skull was preserved. The grave goods, including the amphora, the cup with a horned mullioned handle and the fibula with a thickened arch, show similarities with those of tomb 11.
circa 800-750 BCE
Tomb 63
Found in 1887 in via Giovanni Lanza near San Martino ai Monti, it was of the pit type roughly lined with blocks of Palatine tuff and with a pseudo-vault covering, also in blocks of tuff. The skeletal remains belonged to a female individual, as perhaps indicated by the presence of the accompanying spindle whorl. The latter shows signs of the influence of the Villanovan culture, in particular the biconical jug, strictly dependent on the Villanovan cinerary urns although with some modifications due to the environment of the pit tomb culture.
circa 800-750 BCE
Tomb 11
The burial designated as "Tomb 11" was found in 1885 CE during excavations for the construction of via Giovanni Lanza. It is a pit-style tomb, with an inhumation rite (not incineratory), and is one of the oldest burials in the necropolis, dating back to the IIB period of the Lazio culture (end of the 9th - beginning of the 8th century BCE). Among the dating elements of the grave goods, the fibula (the buckle or pin, used primarily to secure clothes at the shoulders and waist) with a thickened arch stands out, a characteristic of the IIB phase of Rome, widely spread in the Campania area, and probably inspired by the models of the Campanian pit tomb culture (Fossakultur). This type of fibula was supplanted in the III period by the leech fibula, typical of the Villanovan culture. The cups with saddled double-lancet handles and horned double-lancet handles also derive from similar examples from the Campanian pit tomb culture and represent the novel element in the Esquiline necropolis compared to the more forum necropolis of the Roman Forum, where the cups present notably different characteristics.
circa 775-750 BCE
Tomb 31
Pit tomb found in 1885 in via Giovanni Lanza. It presumably belonged to a male individual due to the presence of a fragment of an iron axe within the grave goods. The latter included two cups typical of phase IIB of the Lazio culture and two vases in clay figulina whose decoration is inspired by Greek motifs of the Middle Geometric period, prior to the mid- 8th century BCE.
circa 750-700 BCE
Tomb 21
Pit tomb dug in 1885 on via Giovanni Lanza. It can be attributed to a female individual due to the presence in the grave goods of a necklace of glass, amber and crystal beads and a series of bronze hoops. A fibula (buckle to fasten clothes at shoulder or waist), now lost, hung from a bronze chain placed together with the rings near the deceased's left shoulder. The ceramic shapes of the grave goods (cups and jars) allow us to date the tomb to the final phase of the IIB period of the Lazio culture (second quarter of the 8th century BCE).
circa 730-580 BCE
Tomb 14
Found in 1885 on via Giovanni Lanza, near Largo Brancaccio. It is of the pit type, probably belonging to a male individual due to the presence of the bronze breastplate placed in the grave goods. It can be ascribed to phase III of the Lazio culture.
circa 730-580 BCE
Tomb 94
Found near the church of San Martino ai Monti, between via Napoleone III and via Giovanni Lanza. It is of the pit type with walls in blocks of Palatine tuff, in the shape of a cist, with the deceased lying on the floor. It must have belonged to a male figure of the aristocracy due to the presence of war weapons in the equipment, such as the helmet, the shield and the chariot. It can be dated to period III of the Lazio culture.
circa 730-580 BCE
Tomb 95
Chamber tomb with false vault found in 1882 between via di San Vito and via dello Statuto. The rectangular chamber was built with squared and projecting blocks and contained the remains of a single inhumation. The personal grave goods are missing (perhaps not recovered or stolen). The tomb typology finds comparisons in the Ceretano environment.
circa 725-700 BCE
Tomb 99
Discovered in 1882 in a pit lined with tuff blocks near Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, this burial is an example of phase III of the Lazio culture, dating to the mid-8th to mid-7th century BCE. The grave goods consist of thirteen ceramic and metal objects, with a particularly notable combination of a spindle and a sword—items traditionally associated with female and male burials, respectively. The artifacts, especially the cups with cylindrical necks and crested handles, vases with grooved decorations, and a bronze spindle, suggest that the tomb belongs to the latest phase of the third period, specifically the last twenty-five years of the 8th century BCE. Among the metal objects, there are three bronze feet likely belonging to a folded sheet metal or leather container, a bronze spindle fragment that may have had a wooden core, and a truncated conical bronze element with holes, possibly a handle.
Additionally, an iron spearhead was found, along with six ceramic vessels of varying forms, including a crested capeduncula with a compressed shape at the center, a raised double-hole full handle, and vertical ribbing on the shoulder. Five other similar pieces were discovered, one intact, two with broken handles, and two smaller ones with complete handles. A two-handled cup was also recovered, featuring a shoulder decorated with ribs and apophyses and a bottom adorned with concentric radial grooves. Another find includes a small amphora with a flattened body, crested handles, and sparsely spaced ribs on the shoulder, characteristic of the Lazio culture. Lastly, a pot with a compressed body and shoulder ribs was among the artifacts. These finds are now housed at the Antiquarium Forense in Rome.
circa 725-700 BCE
Tomb 103
Found in 1882 near Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, it was a pit protected by a small vault of tuff. The objects in the grave goods (necklace beads, pyx in embossed bronze sheet ) indicate that it must have been a female burial. The embossed bronzes found inside the tomb are typical of the third period of the Lazio culture and are influenced by the Villanovan culture to such an extent that they can even be considered imported products. The tomb can be dated to the last quarter of the eighth century BCE.
circa 625-600 BCE
Tomb 127
Discovered in 1881 during excavations for a foundation pillar in Piazza Manfredo Fanti, it was only partially explored. The recovered objects were contained in a sort of lateral niche made of four peperino slabs, perhaps built on the side of a pit. The tomb would therefore be placed in the typological context of pit tombs with a loculus, widespread in the ancient orientalizing period and well attested in Latium vetus and in the Capenate-Faliscan area. The elements of the grave goods - not always attributable with certainty - allow us to fix its chronology at the end of the 7th century BCE.
circa 525-500 BCE
Tomb 193
The tomb, found in 1888, consists of a large peperino urn with a roofed lid and corner corbels, imitating a wooden coffin in its external workmanship; inside it contained a much more precious marble urn, also with a double-pitched roof equipped with corner and central acroteria. The latter still preserves traces of polychrome decoration with Ionic kymation (ovules and spears engraved and painted in red and blue) and appliques positioned on the edge of the roof and on the tympanums, as indicated by the presence of small holes. The Greek marble urn presents comparisons with examples found in Spina, in the Etruscan area, which allow by analogy a dating of the piece to the end of the 6th century BCE. The tomb is devoid of grave goods, as widely attested in the burials of the archaic period (6th-5th century BCE) documented in the necropolises of the whole of Latium vetus (Ficana, Castel di Decima, Crustumerium), in compliance with a real funeral custom probably sanctioned by a lex sumptuaria which placed strong restrictions on the introduction of precious objects inside the tombs. But in this case the rule seems to have been cleverly circumvented with the trick of the double container and the introduction of a precious cinerary urn made of imported marble inside a coffin made with material easily found in the Lazio area. The tomb is preserved at the Centrale Montemartini.
circa 300-280 BCE
Tomb of the Fabii or Fanii
A significant find from the Esquiline Necropolis is a fragmentary fresco, now housed at Centrale Montemartini, dating between 300 and 280 BCE, making it one of the earliest known examples of Roman historical painting. The fresco is arranged in four overlapping horizontal bands on a white background, with varying degrees of preservation. The uppermost band retains only traces of a figure’s legs, notably larger in scale than those in the lower registers, suggesting hierarchical composition. The second band features a depiction of city walls and two figures facing each other: one in Samnite attire with a helmet and shield, the other clad in a toga and holding a spear, accompanied by a partially preserved inscription, possibly alluding to a fetial ritual. The third band comprises three distinct scenes—one showing a combatant, another presenting two figures similar to those in the second register, apparently meeting in the presence of three tunic-clad individuals, and the last scene including inscriptions identifying the central figures, one of whom appears to be Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus, a key commander in the Second Samnite War. The final band depicts a duel between a Roman and a Samnite warrior.
The fresco’s interpretation remains debated, though the prevailing view links it to events of the Second Samnite War (326–304 BCE), particularly emphasizing moments of battle and negotiated truces. Scholars suggest that these paintings may have been a reproduction of those that once adorned the Temple of Salus, commissioned by Fabius Pictor in 304 BCE, likely serving to glorify the gens Fabia. Stylistically, the fresco aligns with the Italic narrative tradition, comparable to works from Paestum and Vulci, characterized by multi-register composition, hierarchical proportions, meticulous attention to individual figures and events, and a pronounced use of chromatic contrasts. The painting technique also exhibits affinities with Greek artistic conventions, particularly in its subtle detailing and application of color through "spotting" techniques.
circa 300-100 BCE
Arieti tomb
The Arieti tomb, named after its discoverer, was found about 35 meters from the Fabii tomb. It featured an internal decoration consisting of frescoes depicting battle scenes with characters in heroic nudity. At the time of its discovery, a watercolour was made on which some lictors with quadriga are visible. The white dress with vertical red stripes of the lictors is the sagum, which they carried in war. The fact that the lictors' fasces are facing upwards suggests a triumphal procession, rather than a funeral procession (in this case the fasces would be facing downwards). The dating is rather controversial, between the third and first century BCE. It has been suggested that it was attributed to Aulus Atilius Calatinus, consul in 258 BCE due to its proximity to the tomb of the Fabii, traditionally believed to be that of Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus, of whom Calatinus was a direct nephew.
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