2,400-year-old Hercules shrine and elite tombs discovered outside ancient Rome's walls

Photograph of the tomb entrance. — The two tombs date from the time of Rome's Republic and were found near that city's northeast Via Pietralata. (Image credit: Italian Culture Ministry)

Two elite tombs from the time of the Roman Republic more than 2,400 years ago have been unearthed near Via Pietralata in the northeast of modern Rome.

The buried chamber tombs were together in a funerary complex and near what seems to have been a shrine to the Greek demigod Hercules, who was a popular symbol of protection to the Romans. The excavations include a stretch of ancient roadway and two large monumental basins or tanks that were likely used in sacred ceremonies.

Evidence of ancient occupation around Via Pietralata was found in the 1990s, and excavations of the area of the shrine began in 2022 under the direction of government archaeologist Fabrizio Santi. The area was outside the ancient Roman walls but it is now a suburb of the modern city.

The archaeological team has since discovered bronze coins that indicate the shrine was used between the fifth or fourth centuries B.C. — when Rome was supposedly a republic, although archaeologists don't agree on the dates — and the first century A.D., when Rome had become an empire.

Area believed to be a shrine to the Greek god, Hercules. — The tombs are near a shrine that archaeologists think was devoted to the deified Greek hero Hercules. (Image credit: Italian Culture Ministry)

Some media stories have claimed the finds included six bronze figurines of Hercules, but reports from the Italian Ministry of Culture do not mention any such findings. In fact, the shrine once had a central statue, but it is now missing, the statement said.

Large water tank found at the site. — Two large water tanks found during the excavations may have had a sacred use. (Image credit: Italian Culture Ministry)

Ancient occupants

The tombs could be evidence that the area was occupied by a wealthy family group known as a Roman gens, Santi said in another translated statement. One of the newfound tombs contains a stone sarcophagus and three cremation urns, and the other contains an adult male skeleton.

The two stone basins or tanks were built more than 100 years later than the tombs. The largest was over 90 feet (28 meters) long, about 33 feet (10 m) wide, and about 7 feet (2.1 meters) deep, while the other was a little smaller but almost twice as deep.

A stone sarcophagus in the center of the roman tomb along with three urns. — One of the newfound tombs contains a stone sarcophagus and three cremation urns, and the other contains an adult male skeleton. (Image credit: Italian Culture Ministry)

"They could be structures connected to ritual or, less likely, productive activities or related to water collection," Santi said. "A thorough scientific study will allow us to contextualize these findings and understand their role within the ancient landscape."

Pottery figurine. — The shrine was built above an even earlier votive site where many pieces of pottery figurines were found. (Image credit: Italian Culture Ministry)

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Tom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom. Tom writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, the Earth and the oceans. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others.

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