The Roman Cemetery for the Western Imperial Fleet
(the Classis Praetoria Misenensis )
Archaeologists call it
the Cappella necropolis at Monte di Procida, but I think
my title is better in that it tells you what the site
really was and also gives it some of the respect that it
must have had two thousand years ago. The recently (2003)
excavated site is on the slopes of Monte di Procida in a
section called Cappella, over the waters of the old imperial port of Miseno (photo,
right). That is at the edge of the area known as the Campi Flegrei (the Fiery Fields);
the Monte di Procida ridge, itself, is the remnant
volcanic rim of the cataclysmic Archiflegrean
caldera collapse of some 40,000 years ago of which
the Greeks and Romans knew nothing, of course. It was just
a fine natural harbor, a great place to moor your ships.
The climate was mild, the soil was fertile, and there were
thermal springs eager to soothe your body and spirit. And
so it was that the whole area in that part of the bay was
a true hub of activity, civil and military, when the city
of Naples (Neapolis) further to the east was still asleep.
Because of that long early urban history, you come across
vestiges of the ancient past in amongst the modern fabric
of the area, sometimes on the surface, and sometimes right
below the surface.
The
necropolis was originally a mausoleum dated to the late
Republican period (i.e., around 100 BC). As such, there is
certain to have been a further underground chamber in
addition to what has already been excavated. So far,
beyond the main chambers, they have found four spaces that
were collective or “group” tombs. They are dated to
the first Imperial period (first century AD). They were
built in the brick design known as opus reticulatum and
faced directly on the road, making them easily accessible.
On the front wall of these spaces there is a votive shrine
mounted by a triangular pediment (or gable) and a
semivault decorated in stucco and representing a shell.
There are niches (columbaria) along all of the
walls to hold the ashes of the deceased (image, right).
Various things speak to the site as being a naval
cemetery. One is the presence of frescoed figures
representing the cult of Isis and Dionysus, the mystery
divinities whose followers practiced initiation rites and
believed in resurrection after death, a belief that was
very much in vogue in military circles at the time. Also,
some of the epitaphs show the presence of the remains of
sailors of the imperial fleet quartered at Miseno. There
is one that carries a dedication of Lucius Vibius
Valentus, non-commissioned officer aboard the trireme,
Capricorn, to his heir, ordinary seaman on the trireme
Virtus, one Tiberius Claudius Phoebus. The inscription
tells us that Tiberius was originally from Asia Minor and
that he lived 30 years and served 14 of them in the Miseno
fleet. Towards the beginning of the 2nd century AD the
Romans started burying their dead (as opposed to
cremation) such that, with time, the earthen graves
encroached upon the earlier tombs (about one-hundred of
these have been found in the area). The necropolis does
not seem to have been used after the end of the 4th
century.
[I am indebted to NapoliUnderground for
both photos on this page as well as to their own article
on this same subject. They have additional photos as
well as a video at this
link.]