Remarkably Well-Preserved 2,000-Year-Old ‘Tomb Of Cerberus’ With Amazing Frescoes Discovered In Italy

An exterior shot of the recently-discovered chamber tomb near Naples. Credit: EBU

The tomb was sealed with a tuff slab, a light, porous rock created out of volcanic ash and other sediments. Scientists say the chamber, dating back approximately 2,000 years to the Republican and Imperial Roman ages, was discovered after archaeologists spotted a wall that had been built using an ancient Roman construction technique known as opus incertum.

Inside the remarkably well-preserved chamber tomb, scientists marveled at the amazing frescoes adorning its walls.

“The tomb has frescoed ceilings and walls in perfect condition, with mythological scenes that go all around the room and figurative representations among which, a three-headed dog stands out,” said Mariano Nuzzo, the superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Naples metropolitan area.

Among the most notable mythological figures depicted are ichthyocentaurs – a centaurine-type sea god with the upper body of a human and the lower anterior half and fore-legs of a horse and the tail of a fish. Credit: Superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape

“Three painted klìnai , an altar with vessels for libations, the deceased still placed on the funeral beds with rich objects – complete the picture of a discovery which, in this area, is unprecedented.”

The frescoes depicted Cerberus, a famous monster in Greek mythology. Often described as a  giant three-headed dog, Cerberus guards the gates of the Greek underworld, ensuring that no one escapes from the realm of Hades, the god of the dead and the king of the underworld.

The tomb has led to the tomb being aptly dubbed the “Tomb of Cerberus.”