ICCROM Mora Samples Collection
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Rome, Catacombe di Domitilla, Cubicolo di Ampliato: MRA-ITA-Rom246

Type Sample Item

Sample ID

MRA-ITA-Rom246

Sample Material Type

Undefined

Sample Sub-type

fragment

Dimensions (cm)

Length
7.4
Width
3.35
Height
3.7

Weight

weight value (g)
46.2

Other info about sample identity

 Ampliato parete di fondo [hand written note]

Geographic Location

Country
Italy
Place
Rome

Site/monument

Italy (ITA)
Rome
Catacombe di Domitilla
Catacombe di Domitilla, Cubicolo di Ampliato

Historical note about the site/monument

The Ampliatus hypogeum is part of the larger complex of catacombs of Domitilla and dates to the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. It was discovered in 1881. The tombs take their name from a wall inscription over the arcosolium reading AMPLIATI. The tombs in this part of the catacombs are richly decorated with mural paintings and have a style reminiscent of the Pompeian frescoes. It has been hypothesized that the Aurelius Ampliatus named in one of the inscriptions was a freedman in the Aurelian family, a clan known for their early conversion to Christianity.

Further Reading:
George Edmundson (1913). The Church in Rome in the First Century. London: Longmans, Green and Co. 
Borg, B. (2013). Crisis and Ambition: Tombs and Burial Customs in Third-Century AD Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN-10: 0199672733.

Chronological period (sample)

1st-3rd century

Date of sampling

Unknown
Yes

Other materials/notes

Moderate (has some deterioration features such as lack of cohesion/adhesion) and ideally should not be removed from its holder

Inventory