The

Necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

of Cassibile is a large archaeological site in the

Province of Syracuse The Province of Syracuse ( it, provincia di Siracusa; scn, pruvincia di Sarausa) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth ...

, near the towns of

Avola Avola (; scn, Àvula/, becoming / if preceded by vowel; la, Abola) is a city and in the province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy). History The foundation of the city in an area previously inhabited by the Sicani and invaded by the Si ...

and Cassibile. The site contains a very large graves system situated inside several ravines; the largest of them is called "Cavagrande" (). About 2,000 graves carved out of the rock have been found; they are dated from the 11th to the 9th century BC. This necropolis gives the name to a precise period of the

Sicels The Sicels (; la, Siculi; grc, Σικελοί ''Sikeloi'') were an Italic tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily during the Iron Age. Their neighbours to the west were the Sicani. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, bu ...

' civilization.

Description

comprises the nucleus of a large archaeological site, which borders the nature reserve of . Cavagrande is the largest canyon in the area. There are other caves to the north, which terminate near the village of Cassibile. The most archaeologically interesting, the ''Cava Sant'Anna'', contains the entire Necropolis of Cassibile, the second largest tomb complexes of the Sicul civilization after the

Necropolis of Pantalica The Necropolis of Pantalica is a collection of cemeteries with rock-cut chamber tombs in southeast Sicily, Italy. Dating from the 13th to the 7th centuries BC, there was thought to be over 5,000 tombs, although the most recent estimate suggests a ...

. In the necropolis, there are around 2,000 tombs in artificial caves, which date to between 800 and 1000 BC. The site has divulged numerous archaeological finds, like human remains and pottery. Most of these finds are kept in the

Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi The Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi of Syracuse, Sicily is one of the principal archaeological museums of Europe. History In 1780 the Bishop Alagona inaugurated the ''Museo del Seminario'' which became the ''Museo Civico'' near the arch ...

. Other more isolated tomb complexes were made later. In the additions, archaeologists have hypothesized that there was a large Sicul settlement (often identified with an ancient city called Hybla) formed after the overpopulation of Pantalica around 1100 BC. Of that settlement only a small Greek

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

temple remains. The finds at the site reflected the civilization's refinement, likely due to their contact with the

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

ns and proximity to the sea. The necropolis was reused in the Byzantine era, and many of the tombs were put to other uses, like

arcosolium An arcosolium, plural arcosolia, is an arched recess used as a place of entombment. The word is from Latin , "arch", and , "throne" (literally "place of state") or post-classical "sarcophagus". Early arcosolia were carved out of the living rock ...

s. The pyramidal hill in front of the necropolis, called the "Cugno Mola", has been identified as a fortification, which

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...

mentions in his account of the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

. He describes a military fort established at the mouth of the river Cassibile by the Syracusans to watch over the fleeing Athenians. The Syracusans prevented the Athenians from entering the valley, where they sought refuge from the Sicels, who were evidently allied with the Syracusans.

Gallery

References

External link

''La Necropoli di Cassibile'' (video)
{{Archaeological sites in Sicily Cemeteries in Italy Buildings and structures in the Province of Syracuse Archaeological sites in Sicily