Ca' Morta

About

The Ca' Morta tomb is a Celtic chariot tomb located in the necropolis of the same name to the west of the city of Como, in Italy's Lombardy region. The burial chamber, covered by a tumulus, contains the ashes of a woman of princely status, accompanied by furnishings. Thanks to the exceptional quality of the objects unearthed, this tomb is a precious testimony to Celtic culture at the time, particularly in terms of craft techniques, intra-European trade and the role of women in society. The material evidence shows that the deceased was of Celtic origin, and that the site belongs to the Italo-Celtic "Golasecca" culture, which, like the Hallstatt culture, is a Celtic culture in Early Iron Age Europe. While the burial area was first excavated in 1891, the tomb was discovered in 1928. Radiocarbon analysis reveals that the foundation of the tomb dates from approximately the middle of the 5th century BC (-450), which means that this Italo-Celtic burial site can be attributed to the "Golasecca III / GIIIA" period, and more precisely to the "eastern" facies of the Golasecca culture. Among the artifacts discovered, archaeologists note a remarkable four-wheeled chariot. The vehicle, used for ritual...

The Ca' Morta tomb was discovered in 1928 by the landowner, Giuseppe Butti, following a landslide and subsequent landslide in the eponymous necropolis. Antonio Giussani of the Società Archeologica Comense (Comascan Archaeological Society) carried out the extraction, identification and inventory of the various pieces and artifacts contained in the burial cellar. With the support of his team of archaeological researchers, Giussani also brushed, cleaned and deoxidized the archaeological material discovered.

All the pieces were entrusted to the then Director of the Como Archaeological Museum, the architect Luigi Peronne. He took charge of restoring and reconstructing the chariot, since when the tomb was uncovered, the funerary vehicle appeared fragmented.

These initial excavations were not exhaustive, as a second inspection in 1930 unearthed a final piece: an elaborate bronze kylix, probably of Attic origin. In the necropolis's archaeological registers, the Ca' Morta tomb is listed, then recorded under the technical designation: "Tomb III /1928".

Chronological and geographical context of the Ca' Morta tomb

The Cà' Morta burial site was discovered on the southern outskirts of the city of Como, in Lombardy, in the continuation of an avenue: Via Giovanni di Baserga, in the Albate district.

Analysis of the archaeological material extracted from the burial vault confirms that it dates from the second half of the 5th century B.C.

The burial site lies within a vast cemetery known as the "Ca' Morta necropolis". This burial complex, discovered in the 19th century, has been the subject of several excavation programs, including one by Ferrante Rittatore Vonwiller. As a result, several other tombs were uncovered. Examination of their funerary material enabled us to determine the different chronological stages of the necropolis. In addition, analysis and interpretation of the Viatics, comprising artefacts such as ceremonial objects, bronze votive offerings, painted crockery and ceramics, revealed the importance of trade between the Comascan territory and other regions: primarily Padanian Etruria, Magna Graecia and the Celtic Hallstatian culture.

The objects and remains found in the necropolis date its construction to between 750 and 700 BC, during the Early Iron Age. Nevertheless, a significant number of markers, such as manufactured products and ruins of mortuary structures, lend credence to the hypothesis of the re-employment of a protohistoric cemetery dating from the Middle to Recent Bronze Age.

Vestiges of settlements, none of them with monumental features, have been discovered in the vicinity of the Cà' Morta necropolis. On the whole, the infrastructures uncovered from the outcropping strata at the comasque site of Monte della Crocce show a variety of architectural types: sometimes aristocratic, more frequently artisanal, agricultural, but essentially residential. This observation is consistent with the fact that the form of urbanization on the princely Comasque site is village-like. Moreover, both the small number and the architectural style of the remains confirm the development of proto-Italian urbanism. They rest on a north-east-south-west axis. Archaeological excavations have provided significant clues to corroborate the previously established chronological conclusions. The foundation of the princely site, adjacent to the burial complex, has been dated to around the end of the 7th century B.C. However, these protohistoric ruins may have been preceded by various types of housing infrastructure. To this end, archaeological field investigations and surveys have revealed the remains of settlements to the west of the Comasque agglomeration. Stratigraphic expertise allows us to date the domestic ruins to around the beginning of the 10th century B.C.

- Geographical location of the Ca' Morta burial site and the protohistoric site of Como.

The hill on which the protohistoric Comasque princely site once stood.

In addition to the Ca' Morta necropolis, excavations in the surrounding area have revealed two other sepulchral areas, whose evolution frames the aristocratic site of Como. Stratigraphic analyses reveal that both necropolises were founded after the princely center (early 6th century BC). The latter, much smaller in area than Ca' Morta, are located to the north-west, in the present-day Comascan suburb of Ronchetti di Rebbio, and to the east, in the district of Santa Maria di Vergosa. During the 5th and early 4th centuries B.C., the Comascan aristocratic urban center and its three adjoining necropolises developed simultaneously as a result of a process of synœcism. During this period, the growth of the Comasque pole was continuous. The city grew to a maximum area of 150 hectares by the end of the 4th century B.C.

Numerous epigraphic material occurrences, such as the Prestino inscription, show that Celtic tribes settled in the Comasque region several times during the same period. This fact is confirmed by a wealth of literary documentation, provided by certain ancient sources.

Consequently, given their chronological simultaneity and geographical homogeneity, some authors conclude that there is a highly probable cause-and-effect relationship between the two phenomena: on the one hand, the settlement of Celtic tribes at the precise point of Como / Ca' Morta, and on the other, the development of urban growth.

Many historians believe that trade between the Comascan site and Etruria was constant from the 6th to the 4th century B.C. In this respect, many of the coins discovered were found in the vicinity of the Etruscan aristocratic center. These include coins from the city of Populonia. The "lion" coins were found embedded in the first stratigraphic layers on the southern slopes of the suburb of Prestino di Como.

Typical coin of Populonia minted "with the lion", issued during the 5th century B.C.

A type of Etruscan coin from the city of Pufluna, discovered near the protohistoric site of Como.

In addition, multiple clues also discovered on the burial site, within the proto-urban remains, attest to a significant decline from the early 2nd century BC onwards. Specialists such as Wenceslas Kruta attribute this decline to the Celtic invasions. Analyses of the subsoil show that this decline continued in the following centuries (1st and 1st century BC), with the number of burials, together with the number of urban and peri-urban settlements, declining significantly. As a result, this evidence points to a significant decline in the political, economic and demographic influence of the princely city. Taking into account the historical background, this fact could be correlated with the rise of the Roman Republic. During the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, Roman republican power pursued a policy known as expansionism, in other words, a strategy of territorial, economic and cultural enlargement. In fact, at this time, the territory was integrated into the Roman region of Cisalpine Gaul. The decline, then abandonment, of the princely site of Como could therefore be the consequence of this Roman political logic.

Sesto Calende Como Trezzo sull'Adda Milan Castelveccana Castelletto sopra Ticino Golasecca Mesocco Pombia Bellinzago Alessandria Brescia Briona Lecco Santa Maria Hoè Galliate Lombardo Bergamo Mantua Map of the main archaeological sites uncovered belonging to the Golasecca culture in Lombardy · · · On the map, "Tomb III/1928" of the "Ca' Morta" necropolis is represented by the red four-pointed star. The burial site lies south of Lake Como, one of the two main proto-urban centres of the Golasecca civilization, which established itself as a European centre of trade and geopolitical flows during the 7th and 7th centuries B.C. This important centre is attributed to the "eastern" archaeological typology of the Golasecca chrono-cultural extension area, "Golasecca type 1".