Scoglitti, tomb raiders violate a 5th century BC burial site

Last Updated: April 29, 2024

Scoglitti, tombaroli violano una sepoltura del V secolo a.C.

Explanation of the article:

“Grave robbers have been at work in a fifth-century BC necropolis in Scoglitti, a district of the municipality of Vittoria. During preliminary excavation work in the area near the cemetery, eight burials were discovered that are linked to the necropolises of the ancient Greek colony of Camarina. These tombs date back to the second half of the 5th century and partly to the 4th century BC. The excavations were conducted by archaeologists from the Ragusa Superintendency Saverio Scerra and Nicolò Bruno.

Burials in the cappuccina style and some “Enchytrismos” were found, which were amphorae in which the bodies of the deceased or their ashes were enclosed. This type of burial was often reserved for children. The amphorae were then stored in the tombs. The excavations had allowed for the exploration of almost all the tombs, but the last one had been tampered with by grave robbers. The criminals, equipped with metal detectors, found the burials and mistakenly dug near the foundations of a building. Scerra explains that in the Scoglitti area, beyond the Ippari river, which was partially moved at the beginning of the last century, there was one of the three necropolises linked to the settlement of Kamarina. The others are in Passo Marinaro and Rifriscolaro: the latter being the oldest. Many tombs in Scoglitti were damaged in the last century by agricultural work and the construction of some buildings. The recently discovered eight burials are very interesting and have yielded some valuable artifacts. Almost all of the tombs had been explored, but unfortunately, grave robbers beat us to one of them.”