The place
There are several necropolises related to the ancient city of Agrigento, dating from the time of the Greek foundation of the city to the early Christian era. They are located around the city and up to the area overlooking the sea, on the hill of Montelusa, where one of the oldest necropolises is located. Showcase 74 preserves the remains from Montelusa, with finds dating back to the middle and late Corinthian periods (some grave goods are also on display in Room II), together with a monumental sarcophagus with a frieze reproducing the entablature of a Doric temple with metopes and triglyphs, dating back to the 5th century BC.
Of particular importance is the necropolis of Contrada Pezzino which, with its considerable size and wealth of materials, allows us to follow the history of the city from its foundation to the 4th century BC. It is located outside the walls, near gates VI and VII, and is particularly rich in finds from the classical period, from 480 to 430 BC. It is from this necropolis that most of the beautiful Agrigento vases exhibited in other European museums come from, and it is here that the finds displayed in showcases 75-81 were found. Arranged in chronological order, attest to the variety and splendor of the artifacts, most of which were produced by Attic factories using black-figure and red-figure techniques. Notable examples are the craters in display case 80, both dating from 440-430 BC: one depicting young people in procession and the other a young cithara player. Curiously, iron shackles were found in tomb 1771 (see 77), still attached to the ankles of the buried deceased.
The necropolis in the Mosè district, east of Akrágas, was also used from the 6th century BC, but reached its peak during the 5th century, of which the marble sarcophagus with a double-pitched lid and painted frieze, on display in the hall, is a notable example. The magnificent bronze krater with swan-headed handles, found in a well together with other terracotta vases, dates back to the end of the 5th century BC and attests to the ritual use of cremation alongside burial.
In the 5th and 4th centuries BC, two other necropolises were established: one to the southwest of the city, in the Poggio Giache district near Villaseta, from which the materials on display in showcases 83-84 originate, and one in the southern part of modern Agrigento, in the district known as ‘sottogas’, just outside Gate IX, which was used until the 3rd century BC. (see 84).
There are other ancient cemeteries in the area, whose grave goods are not on display in this room but which, with their widespread presence, attest to the extent of the urban settlement: the necropolis of the San Biagio district and the Roman necropolis, located on the southern side of the hill of the temples and also characterized by monumental tombs, in use from the 1st to the 3rd century. The beautiful marble sarcophagus of a child, decorated on three sides, probably comes from here. Dating back to the Hadrianic period (early 2nd century AD), the front side depicts a highly realistic scene of the death of a child, lying on a bed and surrounded by his parents, their heads veiled and bowed in great sorrow, and other figures in the background: in particular, a man with his hands raised in a sign of grief and a woman who, bent over the unfortunate child, tenderly caresses his face. On the left, the child is remembered in a moment of life, during a lesson at school. On either side are two moments in the boy's life: his birth, on the short side to the right, with his mother being cared for by the other women present at the event after giving birth, and, on the opposite side, the child playing on a small cart pulled by a sheep and two figures in the background, a scene symbolically interpreted as the final journey of the unfortunate boy to the realm of the dead.
The last two sarcophagi on display, dating back to the 3rd century, come from the Civic Museum collection; therefore, their exact provenance is unknown.
The first, a basin-shaped sarcophagus, has a portrait of the deceased carved in the center of the front, inside a clipeus, supported by two large winged genies; below, there is a fight between two roosters and cherubs in various poses.
The other, of which only the front is preserved, has a decoration with lateral strigillations and a clipeus with a married couple in the center, below which are two contrasting theatrical masks, probably inserted with reference to the activities carried out by the deceased during their lifetime. this latter motif was repeated in the bronze sculpture affixed to the stone that preserves the ashes of Luigi Pirandello, at the birthplace of the great playwright in the Caos district.
