28 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The 7th-Century Lombard Kings’ Tombs Found in Pavia, Italy

The excavations, conducted between September and October by the Catholic University, uncovered numerous burials attributed, on the one hand, to members of the Lombards Dynasty and, on the other, to monks who lived in the late medieval period.

To the west of the city of Pavia, on the road leading to Piedmont and the Alpine passes, around the middle of the 7th century A.D. the Lombard king Aripert I had the first dynastic mausoleum built in the capital, which would house the burials of his sons and heirs until the beginning of the 8th century. This was the first necropolis excavated at a royal ecclesiastical building, a Catholic mausoleum that disrupted the traditions and funerary rituals typical of Germanic peoples. Then, in the 10th century, Adelaide, wife of Emperor Otto I of the Holy Roman Empire, had an imperial monastery built on the same site, later replaced by a 15th-century church that is still standing today, the Basilica of the Holy Saviour.

Since 2017, a team of experts from the Catholic University, led by Professor Caterina Giostra, has been conducting investigations to unravel the secrets of this necropolis. This project is supported by the Swiss foundation Plus Patrum Lumen Sustine, enabling meticulous research and the use of advanced technologies.

The research focused on the southern area of the cloister, while the northern area will be studied in 2025.

Archaeologists have discovered over twenty Early Middle Ages burial sites in exceptional condition in the Small Cloister, which is next to the modern church. Among the unusual examples of these tombs, which are frequently built with gabled roofs and masonry boxes, is one that is among the oldest and features a painted red cross.

The graves of the Lombard Kings found with the mausoleum of king Aripert I. Credit: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
The graves of the Lombard Kings found with the mausoleum of king Aripert I. Credit: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

 According to Professor Giostra, these burials were likely reserved for individuals of high social status. The fact that a large number of these tombs were repurposed over time is interesting because it suggests that skeletal remains were exhumed and rearranged as part of funerary practices. This procedure might have been used to make room for additional burials or to recover symbolic items that were a part of the time’s customs.

Above the Lombards elite burials from the early medieval period, researchers have identified a second, more modest level of burials. These graves preserve the remains of the monks who lived there in the Late Middle Ages. These discoveries are complemented by the identification of an underground passage connecting the monastery’s cellars to a central well, designed to ensure an efficient water supply.

The excavation team has employed advanced tools such as drones, three-dimensional photogrammetry, and forensic analysis to document and preserve the findings. Samples collected will be analyzed in collaboration with the Laboratory of Anthropology and Forensic Odontology (LABANOF) at the University of Milan, led by Professor Cristina Cattaneo.

One grave is decorated with a big Red Cross. Credit: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
One grave is decorated with a big Red Cross. Credit: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

These investigations will be added to the archaeo-genetic examination, which uses ancient nuclear DNA to define the biological profile of individuals to establish possible kinship relationships, gender, social position, diet, and lifestyle. Additionally, researchers to explore the ancient DNA of the remains, potentially revealing whether the individuals were exclusively local or had connections to populations from Northern Europe, as documented in other Lombard necropolises in Italy.

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Cover Image Credit: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Related Articles

Yale Archaeologist discovered an “arcade” of rock-cut ancient mancala game boards in Kenya

2 February 2024

2 February 2024

Veronica Waweru, a Yale University archaeologist conducting fieldwork in Kenya, discovered an “arcade” of ancient Mancala game boards carved into...

The 1800-year iron mask unearthed in Turkey is proof of the first military base of the Roman period in the Western Black Sea Region

23 November 2021

23 November 2021

An iron face mask used by a skilled member of the Roman cavalry 1,800 years ago has been discovered in...

50 Lost War Helmets Found Near Wrocław University

16 June 2025

16 June 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, over 50 military helmets from both World Wars have been unearthed just steps away from...

Teymareh Petroglyphs, One of the World’s Largest Rock Art Collections, at Risk of Disappearing Due to Mining Activities

20 August 2024

20 August 2024

Petroglyphs are among the world’s oldest practiced art forms and are as diverse as the wide-ranging cultures and civilizations that...

Archeological study shows unearthed Byzantine warrior had gold-threaded jaw

30 September 2021

30 September 2021

A Byzantine warrior who was beheaded after the Ottomans captured his fort in the 14th century had a jaw threaded...

New finds in ancient Rome’s Pompeii show ‘conditions of precarity and poor hygiene, in which people of lower status lived during that time

20 August 2023

20 August 2023

Archaeologists have discovered a small bedroom in Civita Giuliana villa near Pompeii that was almost certainly used by slaves, throwing...

2,000-year-old Roman pewter hoard discovered in Suffolk

4 July 2023

4 July 2023

A rare hoard of Roman pewter has been discovered in Euston, western Suffolk, in eastern England. The rare discovery includes...

Beer remains that are 9,000 years old have been discovered in China’s unique Hu pots

3 September 2021

3 September 2021

Archaeologists in southeast China have discovered evidence of beer consumption in ceramic vessels at the burial site called Qiaotou. The...

A Trove of ‘Exceptional’ stunningly preserved bronze statues found at an Ancient Thermal Spa in Tuscany, Italy

10 November 2022

10 November 2022

A group of Italian archaeologists made the discovery of 24 well-preserved bronze statues from an ancient thermal spring in Tuscany....

Polish archaeologists have uncovered nine crocodile heads within ancient Egyptian tombs of nobles

25 December 2022

25 December 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating the Theban Necropolis in Egypt discovered nine crocodile heads hidden inside two tombs belonging to high-ranking nobles....

Statue Head of Goddess Tyche Discovered in Bulgaria

8 December 2024

8 December 2024

A remarkably crafted head of a large statue of the Greek goddess Tyche was recently unearthed during the excavations of...

10,000-year-old Settlement Discovered in Turkey’s Şanlıurfa

25 June 2021

25 June 2021

A Neolithic settlement was discovered in the garden of a house in the Sayburç Neighborhood of Şanlıurfa’s Karaköprü district. News...

Early Iron Age cremation burial containing bronze jewelry and rare textile fragments found in Austria

9 July 2023

9 July 2023

Archeologists from the Vienna Natural History Museum (NHM), a cremation burial containing bronze jewelry and rare surviving textile fragments have...

New Type of Amphora Found in 5th-Century Roman Shipwreck

28 April 2024

28 April 2024

The first in-depth analysis of the cargo of a 4th-century Roman shipwreck found off the coast of Mallorca in 2019...

Silk Road archaeological discoveries draw attention despite the pandemic

20 June 2021

20 June 2021

A report prepared by more than 30 global experts believes that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, archaeological discoveries related to the...