Gruppo BISACCIA

The chosen asset is an archaeological find, the funeral equipment of a woman, dating back to the 7th century BC, of a high rank with a dress covered in bronze buttons, brooches, a necklace with spirals and bronze and amber joints, many bracelets on her arms . Due to the richness of the ornaments, the character was given the name of princess. The Princess is the symbol of the MAB, Archaeological Museum of Bisaccia.

Tomb 66 of the "princess", dated to the second quarter of the 7th century. B.C. and discovered in 1975 in an isolated sector of the necropolis of Cimitero Vecchio, it was similar to the other burials: a large rectangular pit covered with stones and pebbles, in the center of which, however, was a large slab of white stone, leaning on one side, but originally erected as a marker (sèma). Another element distinguished this tomb from the others: the large enclosure of large boulders, which created a precise limit around it, to indicate the presence inside of a high-ranking person. The enclosure was made up of two different rows of stones which overlapped: the lower one, wider, traced at the moment of the burial; the upper one added at a later time, testifying to how honors and care were reserved for the person buried there even long after his death: the very young woman buried here must have belonged to a social group endowed with a power that survived beyond the death of the individual and his memory remained over the years. The kit is significant: many impasto vases (jugs, cups, amphorae) and figulina clay (jugs, ollas) distributed everywhere and bronze vases of considerable value, imported from the Etruscan area, including a ribbed phiale and two basins with wide lunate grips. At the woman's feet were bronze whorls, a pot for foodstuffs and a bundle of three iron skewers, typical signs of agricultural wealth and an almost exclusive prerogative of the funeral equipment of men usually connoted as princes of the indigenous communities. The skewers could also indicate that the deceased young woman had the prerogative of some form of sacrifice, also claiming for her a religious and political role. The tomb was reconstructed on a 1:1 scale in room II of the Civic Museum of Bisaccia.

Unknown

7th century B.C.

Archaeological excavation: via della Principessa Reconstruction on a 1:1 scale with the original finds: Room II of the MAB, Archaeological Museum of Bisaccia inside the Ducal Castle (C.so Romuleo)

Property of MIBACT (Ministry of Culture)

The tomb reconstructed inside the Museum is in excellent condition and the state of conservation is perfect.

Since its discovery, the tomb, with its grave goods, has been immediately secured. With the installation of the Museum in May 2009, (obtaining over the years the first place among the archaeological museums of Irpinia and Sannio for its many activities, events, archaeological collections and number of visitors) the rich funeral equipment of Tomb 66 known as the "Princess" allows a reasoned study of the settlements in the Iron Age and of the entire Bisaccese necropolis. Regarding the 'Princess' there is another surprise. At the time of the excavation, very few bones were found under her dress and at first it was thought that the reason must be sought in the bronze itself, which had corroded the bones, or in the acidity of the soil. In reality, anthropologists' analyzes have shown that they were the remains of a few-year-old girl, buried in the dress of an adult. At this point it is thought that in the community there was a family group endowed with strong power and this child was probably deposed in this way as predestined: that is, she was deposed according to the image she would have assumed if she had continued to live in the community. within the top management group. And this is even more significant than the social nucleus to which the 'little princess' belonged.