Sewer installation unearths 2,300-year-old tomb with treasures in Italy. See it
A sewer construction project in southeastern Italy reopened a 2,300-year-old tomb with painted walls and treasures. Archaeologists excavated the underground burial and found a secondary connecting structure.
Construction crews in Manduria were installing a new sewer line when they hit an underground structure, the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Provinces of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto said in a Sept. 8 news release.
Archaeologists took over the excavation and identified the structure as a Hellenistic stone tomb dating back to the fourth century B.C., officials said.
The 2,300-year-old tomb had two rooms — an entrance chamber and a burial chamber — originally connected with a double door, archaeologists said.
The walls of the entrance chamber had traces of red paint and a horizontal white band, officials said. The walls of the burial chamber were also painted, but their pattern was less identifiable.
Excavations of the burial chamber also found untouched ancient ceramic artifacts, such as vases, jars, lamps and plates, archaeologists said. A photo shows the room, which also had carved niches in the walls.
Archaeologists also found a secondary tomb next to the 2,400-year-old structure. This tomb had been looted previously, though excavations found a forgotten ancient Roman coin, officials said. A photo shows the worn, greenish coin. .
The ancient tombs, along with the area’s previous finds, suggest this part of Manduria served as a structured cemetery-like space in ancient times.
Manduria is in the southeastern tip of Italy and a roughly 350-mile drive southeast from Rome.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Provinces of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto.
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Sewer installation unearths 2,300-year-old tomb with treasures in Italy. See it."
