The site houses some of the items uncovered during the archaeological excavations carried out during the renovation work in the area opposite the Basilica of San Simplicio.
The excavation uncovered around 450 tombs from Roman times, dating from 200 B.C. To 300 A.D. It also preserves a stratification of stages of outside-the-walls worship and necropolis covering the first 2,000 years of history in the city, from its foundation with the Phoenicians right up to the Middle Ages.
It is most likely that as early as the Phoenicians there was a place of worship in the substratum of the current church. Activity at the site continued throughout the city’s Greek and Punic periods. In the Roman era, the temple dedicated to the goddess Ceres and the space opposite started to fill up with burials. With the arrival of Christianity, the place of worship was dedicated to the martyr Simplicio and in the Judicate era, the Romanesque church was erected.
The museum itinerary includes the opportunity to admire some burials from the Roman era accompanied by original funeral goods: tankards, jugs and fragments of terracotta statues of the Roman goddess, Ceres. There are also some showcases displaying a selection of materials from the excavation which have been restored.
Particularly worth mentioning is an elaborate collection of rings and jewels from a tomb and is, therefore, referred to as “the Lord of the Rings”. One of the most important ones is a ring with a carnelian gem, with a human figure engraved on it, mounted on silver, and a silver disc with the equestrian figure of the emperor Costantino.
Access to the archaeological site is via the piazza di San Simplicio or the car park in via D’Annunzio.
