The Roman town of Abella – burial site

Abella was an ancient city in Campania. It was located near Nola on the road from Capua to Abellinum. According to Servius (on Aeneid 7, 740), the city was founded by a king Muranus as Moera, but both the founder and the name of the city are mythological. Another tradition attributes Abella to Greek colonists from Chalcis. During the Social War, it remained loyal to Rome and was therefore burned down by Nola in 87 BC. Abella was already a Roman colony before 73 BC. During the time of Vespasian, the city was also a municipium, and the city's land was distributed to veterans. The city was famous for its fruit cultivation, especially its hazelnuts (nux abellana). A special testimony is the Cippo Abellano, a contract written in Oscan between Nola and Abella concerning a Hercules sanctuary. From literary and epigraphic sources, we know of larger structures such as a theater, an amphitheater (from the period immediately after its founding as a Roman colony; ruins of the amphitheater are still preserved today), an aqueduct, and a basilica. East and west of the city, graves from the Iron Age to the Roman period can be found.

The Tombe Romane di Avella (Necropolis / Area archeologica della necropoli monumentale) are a well-preserved section of the monumental tomb road of the ancient city of Abella.

They are located on the Via Tombe Romane west of the ancient city and date from the late Hellenistic to early Imperial period. Four mausoleums of local aristocratic families are preserved. They were built in opus incertum or reticulatum with brick and tuff cladding.

Typical form: "a dado" (cube-shaped) – a lower square structure with a small barrel-vaulted burial chamber (only for urns and grave goods), above which is a cylindrical or aedicula-like superstructure. The tombs are located along the ancient main road and are surrounded by enclosures.