Detailed sheets

Central crypt

Between the XVII and the start of the XVIII century the largest crypt of the seven found in the area was implanted below the central nave of the church of Sant’Eulalia (figs. 1-2).

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Fig. 1 - Central crypt when the dig took place in the church. The crypt ceiling appears to be vaulted (photo by AFS).
2
Fig. 2 - Next digging stage in the church: the main crypt reveals the presence of an altar in andesite slabs and the stairs connecting it to the church above (photo by AFS).


A staircase connects the church to the crypt: the 12 remaining steps (knocked down during the dig for static reasons) were to the West and led to a rectangular environment (about 13.50 x 4.80m) initially barrel-vaulted; in its south-east area there was an altar covered in slate slabs. Under the floor they found hundreds of graves on different levels, arranged to exploit all the space available (fig. 3).

 

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Fig. 3 - Map of burials in the crypt (by Martorelli, Mureddu 2002a, p. 50, fig. 27).

When the crypt was first used, there were only earthen graves; then they added those in trapezoidal wooden caskets (fig. 4). At times, the bodies of the dead were found placed on the covers of previous coffins, collected in a shroud and covered in a layer of lime. In other cases, the buried bodies occupied the space free between two coffins, to exploit the remaining spaces to the maximum.

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Fig. 4 - The crypt during excavation (photo by AFS).

During the last crypt use period (end XVIII-XIX century), the lack of space for new burials led to the recovery of existing coffins, freed following the corpses being moved to a charnel pit, identified between the stairs and the NW-SE perimeter wall. The bone remains show the area was used by a heterogeneous range of society: women and men of all ages, up to the foetal one, were laid to rest in this area.

Bibliografia

  • S. CISCI, M. TATTI, Cagliari, S. Eulalia, 2007-2008, in Archeologia postmedievale. Società, ambiente, produzione, 11, pp. 357-358.
  • M. MARTORELLI, Un decennio di ricerche archeologiche nella Cagliari catalano-aragonese, in A. CIOPPI (a cura di), Sardegna e Catalogna officinae di identità, riflessioni storiografiche e prospettive di ricerca. Studi in memoria di Roberto Coroneo. Atti del Seminario di studi (Cagliari 15 aprile 2011), Cagliari 2013, pp. 243-268.
  • R. MARTORELLI, D. MUREDDU, F. PINNA, A. L. SANNA, Nuovi dati sulla topografia di Cagliari in epoca tardoantica e medievale dagli scavi nelle chiese di S. Eulalia e del Santo Sepolcro: Notiziario, in Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana, 79, 2003, pp. 365-408.
  • F. PINNA, Frammenti di storia sotto S. Eulalia. I risultati delle campagne di scavo 1990-1992, in R. MARTORELLI, D. MUREDDU (a cura di), Cagliari, le radici di Marina: dallo scavo archeologico di S. Eulalia un progetto di ricerca formazione e valorizzazione, pp. 33-54.
  • F. PINNA, Le indagini archeologiche. La chiesa, in R. MARTORELLI, D. MUREDDU, F. PINNA, A. L. SANNA, Nuovi dati sulla topografia di Cagliari in epoca tardoantica e medievale dagli scavi nelle chiese di S. Eulalia e del Santo Sepolcro: Notiziario, in Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana, 79, 2003, pp. 372-381.
  • F. PINNA, Il corredo funerario nella Sardegna post-medievale: la cripta della chiesa di S. Eulalia a Cagliari, in S. LUSUARDI SIENA (a cura di), Fonti archeologiche e iconografiche per la storia e la cultura degli insediamenti nell'altomedioevo, in Atti delle giornate di studio (Milano-Vercelli, 21-22 marzo 2003) = Contributi di Archeologia, 3, Milano 2003, pp. 323-335.

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