14 July 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

The oldest ceramic roof tiles ever found in land of Israel may be from Antiochus’ Lost Citadel in Jerusalem

6 December 2023

6 December 2023

The 16 ceramic roof tile fragments, from the Hellenistic period in the second century BCE, were discovered during an archaeological...

The first Bull Geoglyph discovered in central Asia

29 September 2021

29 September 2021

Archaeologists from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of History of Material Culture (IIMK RAS) and LLC Krasnoyarsk Geoarchaeology discovered...

A burial complex dating to the Second Intermediate Period has been discovered at the Dra Abu el-Naga necropolis at Luxor

12 April 2023

12 April 2023

At the Dra Abu el-Naga necropolis in Luxor, a family burial complex from the Second Intermediate Period has been found....

A 1900-year-old stele was discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Parion

5 August 2021

5 August 2021

A 1,900-year-old grave stele was found during excavations in Parion, an important ancient port city, near Kemer village in the...

19 funerary tombs from Roman times were discovered in Tartus, Syria

27 May 2022

27 May 2022

During search and excavation operations in the archaeological area of Amrit in Tartus, Syria, a joint excavation team from the...

The excavations in ancient city of Aizanoi discovered the statue heads of Dionysus and Aphrodite

11 December 2023

11 December 2023

The heads of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and Dionysus, the god of wine, were found in Aizanoi,...

Ukraine says Russian forces stole Scythian treasures from Melitopol Museum

11 May 2022

11 May 2022

Invading Russian troops have stolen items of ancient Scythian gold and other historical and cultural valuables that were stored in...

The Splendor of the Seven Descending Gods of Tulum Resurfaced

11 February 2024

11 February 2024

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says the splendor of the seven Descending Gods of Tulum has resurfaced....

1,800-Year-Old Gold Ring with ‘Venus the Victorious’ Carving and Carolingian Coins Discovered in France

25 December 2024

25 December 2024

Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) have discovered a 1,800-year-old gold ring with a chiseled...

1900 years old a Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization reveals Anatolia’s strategic importance in maritime trade

16 September 2023

16 September 2023

A Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization, located in Andriake port in the southern province of Antalya’s Demre district, tells...

Human Presence in Malta Earlier Than Previously Thought: Hunter-Gatherers Navigated 100 km by Sea 1,000 Years Before Farmers

14 April 2025

14 April 2025

Recent archaeological findings have dramatically reshaped our understanding of human history in the Mediterranean, revealing that hunter-gatherers were capable of...

An ancient structure of unknown purpose discovered in northeastern Italy

25 March 2023

25 March 2023

A mysterious structure of unknown purpose has been unearthed in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeastern Italy. The discovery...

In Turkey’s Zerzevan Castle, a badge bearing the US national symbol was discovered

4 October 2021

4 October 2021

Recent investigations have led to the discovery of a badge bearing the pattern of the Great Seal of the United...

Archaeologists Unearth Prehistoric Fishing Evidence on the Makran Coast of Iran

20 May 2025

20 May 2025

The Makran coast, a historically rich coastal stretch along the Sea of Oman, has once again drawn archaeological attention with...

Extremely well-preserved 2000-year-old child’s leather Shoe Discovered During Archaeological Mine Excavations

1 September 2023

1 September 2023

An “extremely well-preserved” Iron Age child’s shoe was discovered in Austria during excavations at Dürrnberg, near the historic town of...