Tomb of the Dancers

Fresco from the tomb depicting dancing Peucetian women
Women dressed in bright blue, red, tan, and black dresses with head coverings dancing in a circle while holding hands. Periodically there is a man in all white with an instrument. They all share they same sorrowful look.
Image of the fresco showing not just the women dancing but also the man dressed in all white carrying an instrument.
Image showing a second male figure with different musical instrument dressed in white.

The Tomb of the Dancers or Tomb of the Dancing Women (Italian: Tomba delle danzatrici) is a Peucetian tomb in Ruvo di Puglia, Italy. It was discovered in the Corso Cotugno necropolis in November 1833.[1] The date of its construction is uncertain, dates ranging from the end of the fifth century BC[2] to the mid-fourth century BC[1] have been proposed. In any case, the tomb's frescoes are the oldest example of figurative painting in Apulia, together with another tomb in Gravina di Puglia. The Peucetians borrowed the practice of painting tombs from the Etruscans, who had an important influence on their culture.[2] The tomb is named after the dancing women which appear on the frescoes in the tomb. The panels with the frescoes are now exhibited in the Naples National Archaeological Museum, inv. 9353 in the "Magna Graecia Collection".

Description

Up close of one of the dancing women, she has a reddish brown head covering, large black circular earrings, red curly hair peaking out around her face, a angular nose and a very solemn look on her face as they all dance.
Up close of one of the dancing women. Showing curly hair, large earring, what might be a detailed head scarf on her four head and the solemn look on her face.

The tomb has a semi chamber design. Its six painted panels depict thirty or more dancing women, moving from left to right with arms interlocked as though they were dancing a circle around the interior of the tomb. They are dressed in chitons and cloaks and have brightly colored veils on their head. There are three men in the group, distinguished by their white clothes. One of them holds a lyre.[1]

A major focus of the tomb paintings is seen in the frescos at the Tomb of the Dancers is a celebration that leads up to the burial and ritual of the burial itself. The images suggest that the remembrance of the location of the burial was not important, like it would be today where loved ones are buried with elaborate shrined or gravestones. Its likely that the commemoration of the past did contribute to their funerals, but the absence of grave markers and the possibility of reuse of the graves show that funeral rites might not have been practiced from the fifth and fourth centuries BC. M. Carrol has argued that: "Tombs in Peucetia resembled more the stage for a performance then the final resting place of an individual."[3] As the tomb, the paintings, items surrounding the deceased were placed in a careful a way of display even though it would of only been for a moment.

The skeletal remains of the deceased in the tomb clearly belonged to a distinguished male warrior. He was dressed in a helmet, greaves and shield. Next to his right arm were spears and daggers. The grave goods included different types of ceramic pottery. These consisted of kraters, amphorae, kantharoi and some oil lamps. They were arranged on the ground and hung from the lower sections of the walls. The pottery had symbolic and funerary significance.[1] Drinking sets have occasionally been thought of has a representation of the Greek symposium, although the Peucetian artifacts also show evidence of cooking and eating and are also found at the graves of the women and children as well.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Pascale 2009, p. 297.
  2. ^ a b De Juliis 2004, p. 267.
  3. ^ Herring, Edward; O’Donoghue, Eóin, eds. (2018-08-13). Papers in Italian Archaeology VII: The Archaeology of Death: Proceedings of the Seventh Conference of Italian Archaeology held at the National University of Ireland, Galway, April 16-18, 2016. Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1nzfvx7. ISBN 978-1-78491-922-1.
  4. ^ Carroll, Maureen (2020). "A conference on the archaeology of death and burial in ancient Italy - EDWARD HERRING and EÓIN O'DONOGHUE (edd.), PAPERS IN ITALIAN ARCHAEOLOGY VII. THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF DEATH. PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH CONFERENCE OF ITALIAN ARCHAEOLOGY HELD AT THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, GALWAY, APRIL 16-18, 2016 (Archaeopress Archaeology; Oxford2018). Pp. xiii + 610, figs. 273 including colour. ISBN 978-1-78491-921-4. £80". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 33: 524–527. doi:10.1017/S1047759420000082. ISSN 1047-7594.

Sources

  • Pascale, Enrico (2009). Death and Resurrection in Art. Los Angeles, California: Getty Publications. ISBN 978-0-89236-947-8.
  • De Juliis, Ettore M. (2004). "The Etruscans in Apulia". In Bernardini, Paolo; Camporeale, Giovannangelo (eds.). The Etruscans Outside Etruria. Los Angeles, California: Getty Publications. ISBN 978-0-89236-767-2.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tomb of the Dancers.

Beautiful 3D artist rendition of what the Tomb of the Dancers looked like. Created for an exhibition called "Le ambre della Principessa" at the Palazzo Leoni Montanari by Massimo Caggese. https://masmo.artstation.com/projects/B56A8?album_id=1067006

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