Esquiline Necropolis, Ancient necropolis on Esquiline Hill, Rome, Italy
The Esquiline Necropolis was a burial ground on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, located beneath what is now Piazza San Martino ai Monti and Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. The excavations revealed many burial types and grave goods from different periods, providing insight into how people practiced burial rituals.
The necropolis began in the 8th century BCE and served as a burial ground for centuries until around 38 BCE, when Maecenas transformed the area into gardens. This conversion ended its use as a cemetery and redirected the land to a different purpose.
The grave goods reveal what people valued enough to bury with their dead, showing shifts in burial customs over time. These objects tell us about daily life and social status in ancient Rome.
The excavation site lies beneath the modern city squares and is not visible at ground level today, but the excavated materials can be seen in museums. The Antiquarium Forense and Museo Centrale Montemartini display the finds and offer a good overview of what was discovered there.
One of the burial chambers holds a notably early Roman wall painting depicting a historical scene. This fresco is considered one of the oldest known examples of this type of pictorial storytelling in Roman art.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
