Necropolis of Piano delle Forche

About

The necropolis of Piano delle Forche ("Plain of the Gallows") is a burial site just outside the fortification walls of ancient Eryx (modern Erice) in western Sicily.

The site lies just outside Porta Trapani, on a flat area below the ancient city. It was discovered in 1969 during building work near a hotel and a road. Excavations were carried out under the direction of Anna Maria Bisi.

The excavations showed that the area had been used as a burial ground in antiquity. The burials were found in a layer of ground that had not been built over in later periods.

The dead were cremated. The ashes were placed in containers, often amphorae. The amphorae included both Punic and Greek types. Some burials were found still in place, with the containers intact. The excavations also found areas with ash and charcoal, which were interpreted as places where the bodies had been burned. Similar cremation areas are described in later studies.

Grave goods were found with the burials. These included pottery, lamps, coins, and small containers such as unguentaria. Some of the pottery was of black-gloss type. The grave goods are described as fairly modest.

The finds show that the necropolis was in use in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC.

The site is included among the catalogued archaeological locations of the territory of Erice.