Lombard royal tombs found in Pavia

Archaeologists with the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore have discovered more than 20 early medieval burials of Lombard royalty under a 15th century cloister in Pavia. Many of the tombs are stone boxes with tiled roofs, both flat and gabled. One of the oldest graves is decorated with a large painted red cross on the interior. The terracotta tile roof tombs date to the 7th century.

The Lombards under their king Alboin invaded Italy in 568, and quickly occupied most of northern Italy, but Pavia was well-fortified and put up an extraordinary fight. Alboin’s forces besieged it for three years while he captured Italy from the Alps to Tuscany, with the exception of a few major cities (including Rome). Pavia finally fell in 572, and it became the capital of the Kingdom of Lombardy until 774.

By the time they invaded Italy, the Lombards were Christian, but like many Germanic populations they were Arians, not Catholics. They built a number of Arian churches in Pavia in the first 80 years of their rule. Aripert I, however, was a devout Catholic dedicated to spreading his faith and during his brief reign (653-661) most of the Lombards converted to Catholicism. In 657, he built the first church at the site of what is now the Basilica of Santissimo Salvatore as a mausoleum for himself, his sons and nephews. This was the first Lombard dynastic mausoleum and it was used by the royal family until the early 8th century.

The church and associated monastery were rebuilt from the ground up in the 10th century by Adelaide, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, and then completely rebuilt again in the second half of the 15th century. The Small Cloister attached to the church was built between 1460 and 1470. That is where the graves of the Bavarian Dynasty of Lombard kings were believed to have been located.

The parish commissioned archaeologists from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore to excavate the cloister seeking the early medieval tombs thought to be there. Geophysical surveys and other testing revealed the presence of well-preserved medieval burials. In September and October of 2024, a team of archaeologists excavated the southern half of the cloister, unearthing the 7th century stone and tile tombs of the Lombard royal court. Samples of the human remains have been taken for isotope and DNA analysis to investigate the deceased’s diets, geographic origins and any familial links between them.

Additionally, collaboration with German institutions will allow 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.

These studies promise to shed light on the biological, social, and cultural makeup of Lombard Pavia, offering unprecedented insights into its daily life and social organization.

* This article was originally published here