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International audience; This research is part of the PON (Programma Operativo Nazionale) SINAPSIS (SIstema NAzionale Protezione SIti Sensibili), an interdisciplinary project combining archaeological and archaeometric methods. This paper focuses on frescoes from one of the 70 funeral monuments belonging to "Porta Mediana" Necropolis, a very interesting archaeological context located in Cuma, dating back to the first half of the 3rd century BCE. The study provided detailed information on pigments and colors acquired both on untreated and treated (restored) frescoes. Portable colorimetry and chemical-mineralogical (Raman spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction-XRPD, respectively) analyses were performed in situ and on collected samples in order to: 1) identify pigments, raw materials and provenance, 2) point out possible color changes caused by conservative treatments and/or weathering. The identified palette is typical of the Roman period; it includes both single and mixtures of two or more pigments to obtain particular hues. Moreover, the identified raw materials, such as red and yellow ochres, green frit and Egyptian blue, clearly highlighted the choice to use raw materials from local sources. The use of expensive coloring materials also suggests that the mausoleum belonged to a family or a group of people with a high social status.

International audience; The Tomba del Banchetto per l’Eternità discovered in 2018 by the archaeologists of Centre Jean Bérard in Cuma is one of the most outstanding funeral monuments in southern Italy dated back to the first half of the 1st century BC, both for the structure and decoration styles. The tomb has a hypogeum chamber with vaulted ceiling built with tuff blocks, decorated with a banquet scene, representing one of the rare coeval examples of figurative representations both in domestic and funerary contexts.The tomb has been the object of a wide research program that includes archeo-historical arguments along with archaeometric analyses of pigments and mortar-based materials. Moreover, three-dimensional photogrammetric survey of the entire tomb has been performed, in order to reconstruct its 3D model. The model was implemented with all the information acquired during the research with the aim of making accessible, as much as possible, the impressive tomb to the public.It allowed creating a virtual visit of the tomb, now available in two types of format: a docufilm and an app.The virtual tour was designed for painting a complete portrait of all elements featuring the discovery, reconstructing its story, from the first excavation performed by the Centre Jean Bérard archaeologists, also evoking the practices of archaeological research from scholars of the 19th century to archaeologists of the 21st century, then moving to the archaeometric campaign.Panels describing the most important results obtaining by the archaeometric research, both during in-situ campaign by means of multispectral imaging and vibrational spectroscopic techniques and in-lab analyses (Germinario et al., 2019), have been also integrated in the virtual visit of the tomb. Thus, the viewer, will make aware on pigments composition, painting techniques, raw materials used for producing the mortar-based supports as well as building technologies, along with deeply admires the stylistic peculiarities of the decoration. A background narration immersing the visitor into the detail regarding the excavation and the studies here performed is the next expected outcome that could not be addressed during this first phase but which would deserve a more universal dissemination format.

International audience; The study combining stratigraphy, funerary typology, funerary gifts, epigraphy and anthropological data provides new data on the Cuman society of this period; moreover, it adds further informations on funerary self-representation of diverse ethnic groups within the city. Cuma is conquered in 421 BC by the Campanians; a century after, in 334 BC, the city get the civitas sine suffragio. The acquisition in 180 BC of the right of using Latin in public acts and of trade lets suppose that the process of “Romanization” is finished at Cuma. The archaeological evidence brought to light in the last years in the northern necropolises displays a frame more articulate, where the Roman presence doesn’t appear as preponderant as what seem to show the historical sources or the urbanistic transformations of public spaces within the city. The sources on which depends our research come all from the northern funerary space. This latter extends from the North/East of the mount of Cuma to the valley that is delimited on the West by the dryed-up lake of Licola, and on the East by the hills known under the name of the Coast of Cuma. In this area, between the IInd century and the first decades of the 1st century BC, the funerary landscape reveals the presence of imposing semi-hypogeum chamber tombs with barrel vaults for multiple inhumation burials, and "parallelepiped” burials with stele, or pits with gravestones (cippus) arranged to accommodate individual cremations. Both chamber tombs and cremation burials contain inscriptions in Oscan or Latin that characterize individuals as of Oscan origin. In several cases, the names engraved in the tuff are related to families already known in Cuma and in the Phlegraean territory. The burials brought to light illustrate the cultural vivacity of Cuma, a city that, despite continuing to preserve a Greek cultural substratum and although it overlooked the Roman world, continues to be influenced by a strong Oscan component. In this type of society, which we could define as mixed, the Oscan families or the families with an Oscan origin, in addition to maintaining their cultural integrity, still hold the political and economic power of the city at this stage. Even though Heii, Modii, Auxii, Antii, Staii get closer to the Roman civilization, in the funerary ritual they "latinized", they went on representing themselves in the first decades of the first century BC according to the "Oscan manner".

EnglishA lire player sold at the auction and two bronzes from the acropolis of Cuma. Sad considerations. A small bronze appeared on the antiquarian trade has straight common features with two other examples found during regular excavations on the upper temple of the acropolis of Cumae; both of them are difficult to insert in a stylistic and productive frame. This bronze is a new illustration of the musical theme, with significant variations in the typology of the instrument represented. The aim of this short note is to show its relevance to the same workshop and to suggest that its likely origin was actually the Cumean district. italianoUn bronzetto apparso sul commercio antiquario trova stringenti paralleli con due esemplari rinvenuti nel corso di scavi regolari condotti sul tempio superiore dell’acropoli di Cuma e di difficile inquadramento stilistico e produttivo. Esso ripropone il tema della musica con significative variazioni anche nella tipologia dello strumento rappresentato. La breve nota si limita a segnalarne la pertinenza a una unica bottega e la probabile provenienza dal distretto cumano.

International audience; The french archaeological Center Jean Bérard (USR 3133 CNRS-EFR) started in 2012, in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendence of Naples and with the support of an Italian-French team of scholars, an interdisciplinary research in order to document the wall paintings found in a roman chamber tomb discovered in 2006 in the northern necropolis of Cuma. This presentation focuses on the new data regarding the implementation of the monument conservation and enhancement program.

National audience; Les fouilles du Centre Jean Bérard, soutenues par l’École française de Rome, le CNRS, le ministère de l’Europe et des affaires étrangères et la Fondation du Collège de France ont pris en 2108 un tournant amenant une découverte exceptionnelle : une tombe peinte datable du IIe siècle avant J.-C. Exceptionnelle à deux titres : d’une part nous ne connaissons que très peu de tombes pour la période hellénistique moyenne aux alentours de Naples, d’autre part car, malgré le pillage dont cette tombe a fait l’objet, une des parois était bien conservée.

Roman mortars from a mausoleum (named D46b) belonging to the archaeological site of Porta Mediana necropolis, in Cuma (Naples, Southern Italy) have been studied by means of petrographic, mineralogical and micro-chemical analyses. The aim of this research is to fill the knowledge gap regarding mortar-based materials used in Roman age within this wide archaeological site. Two typologies of mortars (bedding and coating) were collected from mausoleum’s masonry. They were lime-based with addition of pozzolanic materials, according to Vitruvius’ recipe. Raw materials, such as volcanic sand and limestones, mainly from local sources, were preferentially used as aggregate, both for great availability and good properties. As regard production techniques, the multi-layer feature of the coating mortars, once again shows the great knowledge of the building art. Each layer is the result of a precise choice, as shown by the differences both in texture and petrographic features. Data from detailed mortars characterization have infer the outstanding skill of Roman craftsmen, as already proved by extraordinary durability of buildings. The research was very useful not only to increase the knowledge of this ancient culture but also to planning conservative actions, that, through mortar reproduction or the research of suitable materials, can promote the safeguard of this invaluable heritage.

Studio archeologico di alcuni prestigiosi contesti tombali con armi e loro contestualizzazione storic-sociale anche alla luce di costrutti teoretici di tipo storico e sociale (per es. Middle Ground, Network Theory) e di paralleli con esempi di interazioni outcomers-popolazioni locali di epoca storica (Costa d'Avorio) e contemporanei (Gahna)

Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( History of Archaic Rome VII 3-11), deriving from Timaeus of Tauromenium, offers a detailed picture of the life and deeds of Aristodemus of Cumae, and describes him as a «tyrant». The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that Aristodemus, despite being a «demagogue» hated by the Cumaean aristocracy, was actually a king (βασιλeύς), with political, military and religious powers.

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International audience; In this occasion we'd like to point out the value of the results obtained by chemical analysis combined to bioarchaeological and traditional archaeological methods in order to determine the organic content of vessels and their implication in funerary ritual. Furthermore, through identification and contextualization of food and drink remains trapped in funerary sets belonging to four tombs of the indigenous necropolis of Cuma (Napoli) dated to the Iron Age, the research has led to the recognition of functional categories of proto-historical pottery.

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Excavations carried out in Cuma by the Centre Jean Bérard archaeologists have uncovered a large quantity of pottery. This study is focused on cooking ware and on internal red-slip cookware, also known as Pompeian Red Ware (Rosso Pompeiano), dated from the first century bc to the first century ad. A comparison with the minero-petrographic composition of beach sands collected along the Bay of Naples coastline highlights the provenance of the temper from the Somma-Vesuvius area, marked by leucite-bearing scoriae and garnet. Petrochemical analyses allow us to distinguish two main groups of pottery characterized by different technological options based on the amount of temper and on the type of clay. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope data demonstrate improved accuracy in the production of Rosso Pompeiano, especially with regard to firing control, which was in a prevailing oxidizing atmosphere and in a narrow thermal range, between about 800 and 900°C.

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En 2011, les recherches sur la necropole nord de Cumes ont ete poursuivies grâce aux credits octroyes par le Ministere des Affaires etrangeres et europeennes. D’une part une collaboration a ete commencee avec l’University of Southampton et la British School at Rome dans le but de couvrir la zone la plus large possible par des prospections geophysiques afin de definir le plus correctement possible le contexte de nos fouilles. D’autre part, nous sommes intervenus sur trois nouveaux secteurs : l...

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International audience; The study of a peculiar Roman constructive technique, such as the opus reticulatum, and the identification of an evolutionary line provide new data about the buildings where such technique was applied. Metric and dimensional studies, connected to dated contexts, increase chronological data and that can be set out with other chronological clues provided by the archaeological study of the site. The implementation of this method, based on the direct and dimensional analysis of the stone’s elements used in the walls and the processing of the metrical data, show the trend of the opus reticulatum not only for some monumental tombs but also for other buildings of the city of Cuma. Here, with the study of a small part of the necropolis, it is possible to outline the setting of a complex building site that interested three different sectors.