Three mausoleums found along the ancient Via Latina in Rome

[Elisa]

Source: ArtTribune

Three mausoleums were found in Via Tosti in Rome, under only half a metre of earth. There was a construction site there (Appio Latino district), as the water pipes were being replaced.  The sepulchral buildings all belong to the same funerary complex dating between the first century BCE and the first century CE.

[Elisa]

Article in English here:

https://www.inentertainment.co.uk/archaeology-funerary-complex-dating-back-up-to-2000-years-dug-up-in-rome-included-a-dog-statue/

Quote

Rome’s excavations revealed an archaeological site where an ancient graveyard was found. It contained bone fragments as well as a headstone for a terracotta-dog.

Archaeologists were called in after workers laying pipes for utility firm Acea on the Via Luigi Tosti in the city’s Appio Latino quarter came across the buried tombs.

The Via Latina, literally the “Latin Road”, was once lined by them. It is one of the oldest-lain Roman roads that ran south-east from the city walls.

The excavations of the group found the remains of an unknown young man, which appeared to be buried in the earth. 

According to the experts, the canine bust — small enough to fit in the palm of a hand — resembles decorative parts of drainage systems used on sloping rooms.

 

The little dog statue seems to have lost or never had a drain hole. It was made for aesthetic reasons.

[guy]

Wonderful discovery. I initially thought the statue was a lion. I was wondering what kind of breed the dog could be with the leonine fasces. A Pomeranian? 

[Crispina]

I agree it's very well done.

[Elisa]

I have to say the Via Latina is fascinating, and in its last part, largely unexcavated!
I recently visited the Ad Decimum catacombs (as the name suggests, they are located at the 10th mile of the Via Latina). No martyr is buried there so they were found largely intact at the beginning of the 20th century. Behind the building you can see a very small stretch of the ancient Via Latina, and  two mausoleums are located nearby, still standing. If only we started digging the area...I wonder how many treasures would come out.

Some pictures of the Ad Decimum catacombs (mainly early Christian frescoes):

The Traditio Legis:

The Good Shepherd and Daniel in the lions' den.

Another interesting thing about this catacomb is that there are inscriptions in Latin written in the Greek alphabet. According to my guide that was because the area was scattered with big farms and workshops where workers from the Eastern part of the Empire came from.

[guy]

I’m still intrigued by the statue of a “dog.” 
 

Assuming it is not an image of a lion, I am still wondering which breed of dog it could be.

Could it be the now-extinct Molossian hound?  (This breed might be the ancestor of the modern mastiff.) The breed was referred to in ancient Roman and Greek sources:

 

Here is one of my favorite funerary stones from the Getty Villa in California:

 

Here’s an article about dogs in Ancient Rome:

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1603/dogs--their-collars-in-ancient-rome/

 

 

Here is Gordon Doherty’s excellent article on “The Dogs of War.”

https://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeblog/thedogsofwar

Edited January 8, 2022 by guy

[guy]

I still have problems accepting that the image is a dog. As seen before, an image of a lion was not unheard of, even in distant Britain: