Greek necropolis displayed in Naples

[guy]

A mythical gorgon, who could turn people to stone, oversees one of the tombs

Here’s an interesting article on the Greek archaeological findings in Naples, Italy. These findings predate the Roman presence by centuries. Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas of the world, once a prominent city in Magna Graecia. 

“Forty feet below the garden of a 19th-century palazzo, in what's now the Sanità area of the city, a steep staircase burrowing underground leads to four tombs. Each with their own grand entrance -- one even has Ionic columns sculpted on its façade -- they open on to what is thought to have been the original pathway that mourners would have taken.

Ancient Greeks built twin-chambered tombs -- one upper chamber, where prayers were said, and a lower one, where the bodies were laid to rest -- by digging out the soft tuff rock, rather like making a cave. 

But these are no mere caves. The chambers have been sculpted to resemble real rooms, with fake ceiling beams, benches, staircases and even high-mattress "beds" -- sarcophagi, inside which multiple bodies were laid to rest. And these weren't sculpted outside and then brought in. Every single detail -- right down to the perfectly plumped "pillows" on those beds -- has been carved from the original rock face.“

The mouth of the gorgon watching over the dead looks mid-breath.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/naples-greek-tombs-cristallini/index.html

Edited January 18, 2022 by guy