A hypogeum monument was recently identified, excavated in the tufo below the Colle della Noce, on the inside of the old cemetery of Ardea, to the side of the church of S. Marina. The monument is accessible through a gate which was recently reopened after it had been walled off at some unknown period in the past. It is a tomb a dromos, probably dating to between the second and fourth centuries AD. The corridor has a length of approximately 10 meters, and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. It terminates with three niches, one central with respect to the axis of the dromos, and the others to the sides; all have semicircular forms with barrel vault ceilings. The join of the vaults of the niches with that of the corridor form, in the terminal point of the latter, a beautiful cross-vault. The side walls of the dromos showed traces of moldings and architectural decoration created carved in the tufo. When discovered, the entire area was completely buried. It is a monumental structure of great interest, and once it is entirely excavated and studied it will undoubtedly furnish interesting data and information on an ancient sepolchre of an historic period of which still very little is known.
(Francesco di Mario)