The Necropolis of San Pietro in Campo e dell'ex Poligrafico Alterocca

The "Claudia Giontella" Archaeological Museum at the CAOS of Terni retraces, through a fascinating and engaging itinerary, two long periods of the history of the city of Terni and the surrounding area. The first relates to the civilization of the Naharti, a Umbrian people who settled in the valley of the Nahar river (nowadays river Nera ); the following period begins with the Roman conquest of southern Umbria following which the Umbrian settlement of Nahars was subdued, and then the Roman town of Interamna built on the same site. In the pre-Roman section of the Museum there are numerous finds from both  settlements - from the Neolithic one near the Marmore Falls to the protohistoric ones discovered in the current urban center and in the nearby suburbs - and from important sacred sites, such as that of Monte Torre Maggiore. On the other hand,a considerable amount of the exhibits is instead represented by the rich heritage of funerary objects recovered with the discovery of the three large Necropolises in the urban area and just outside it: the Necropolis of the Acciaierie (XI-VIII century BC), that of the former Poligrafico Alterocca (whose tombs date back to the VIII-VII centuries BC) and that of San Pietro in Campo (VII-VI century BC). These finds provide valuable information about the Nahartes population, which probably, as the results of archaeological research suggest, developed as early as the seventh century BC the first original “nucleus” of what would become the city of Nahars.

The Necropolis of San Pietro in Campo and the former Poligrafico Alterocca occupied an extensive area of today's city centre - between via Curio Dentato and viale della Stazione -. The first was partly excavated between 1907 and 1912 at the same time as the works for the construction of the Poligrafico, while the other was brought to light between 1996 and 1999 with the excavation for the demolition of the factory. The burials are inhumation - the deceased was placed in a rectangular pit with their head facing east and arms stretched out at their sides.

The women's tombs presented a richer vase set and objects such as spindles, spools and various types of ornaments while in the men's tombs iron weapons, spear and javelin points and small swords were found. The most valuable finds are almost all of Etruscan, Egyptian, Phoenician and Faliscan-Capenate production and made by imitating oriental models (orientalizing culture). It follows that between the seventh and sixth centuries BC the community of this Umbrian territory as well as having a very wealthy social class was the hub of important commercial and cultural exchanges.

In one of the rooms of the museum you can see the reconstruction of some tombs, such as the one (room 4) of the ex Poligrafico Alterocca Necropolis that belonged to a woman, with the grave goods arranged in the same way in which they were found. A part of the refined vase set was placed in a lateral compartment and another at the feet and next to the head of the deceased. Among the ornament and clothing items are clasps and studs of belts.