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“Porthole” tomb

The archaeological site of San Saturnino is located in the eastern part of the city of Cagliari, an area which in ancient times stood outside the city limits and was part of the necropolis extending east of the town, from today's Viale Regina Margherita up to the Bonaria hill. Here you can still see the surviving evidence of the necropolis and the Basilica dedicated to the martyr Saturnino.

A so-called “porthole” tomb (figs. 1-3) is visible next to the right aisle of the eastern transept of the church: this particular type of grave is characterised by a completely or partially buried funerary chamber, covered by a barrel vault or a pitched roof and with a small portal door on one of the short sides, which had a more symbolic function rather than a practical one.

These tombs have been found at various sites in central-southern Sardinia and can be both individual and collective; sometimes they may be found in small necropolis together with other poorer burials, next to churches probably dating back to the Byzantine phase. However, most of the time they have been found apparently isolated, but only because no extensive excavations have yet been undertaken which would allow us to understand whether they could be included in larger cemetery areas. According to the most recent hypotheses, they should probably be interpreted as the tombs of wealthy people, such as funeral buildings linked to the arrival in Sardinia of groups belonging to the Greek-eastern areas.

1
Fig. 1 - “Porthole” tomb (photo by Unicity S.p.A.).
2
Fig. 2 - “Porthole” tomb (photo by Unicity S.p.A.).
3
Fig. 3 - “Porthole” tomb: inside and background (photo by Unicity S.p.A.).




Bibliografia

  • R. DELOGU, Vicende e restauri della basilica di S. Saturno in Cagliari, in Studi sardi, 12-13, 5-32.
  • R. MARTORELLI, Le aree funerarie della Sardegna paleocristiana, in P.G. SPANU ed., Insulae Christi: il Cristianesimo primitivo in Sardegna, Corsica, Baleari. Mediterraneo tardoantico e medievale: scavi e ricerche, 16, Cagliari-Oristano 2002, pp. 315-340.
  • R. MARTORELLI, Committenza e ubicazione dei monasteri a Cagliari in età medievale, in L. PANI ERMINI ed., Committenza, scelte insediative e organizzazione patrimoniale nel medioevo. (De Re Monastica - I). Atti del Convegno di studio (Tergu, 15-17 settembre 2006), Spoleto 2007, pp. 281-323.
  • L. PANI ERMINI, Ricerche nel complesso di S. Saturno a Cagliari, in Rendiconti della Pontificia Accademia Romana d'Archeologia, 55/56, 111-128.
  • L. PANI ERMINI, Il complesso martiriale di San Saturno, in P. DEMEGLIO, C. LAMBERT eds., La Civitas christiana. Urbanistica delle città italiane fra tarda antichità e altomedioevo. Aspetti di archeologia urbana. Atti del I Seminario di studio (Torino 1991). Mediterraneo tardoantico e medievale. Quaderni, 1, Torino 1992, pp. 55-81.
  • L. PANI ERMINI, Contributo alla conoscenza del suburbio cagliaritano "iuxta basilicam sancti mortyris Saturnini", in “Sardinia antiqua”. Studi in onore di Piero Meloni in occasione del suo settantesimo compleanno, Cagliari 1992, pp. 477-490.
  • D. SALVI, Cagliari: San Saturnino, le fasi altomedievali, in P. CORRIAS, S. COSENTINO eds., Ai confini dell’Impero. Storia, arte e archeologia della Sardegna bizantina, Cagliari 2002, pp. 225-229.
  • D. SALVI, Cagliari: l’area cimiteriale di San Saturnino, in P.G. SPANU ed., Insulae Christi: il Cristianesimo primitivo in Sardegna, Corsica, Baleari. Mediterraneo tardoantico e medievale: scavi e ricerche, 16, Cagliari-Oristano 2002, pp. 215-223.

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