Ipogeo del Cerbero

Beneath the grounds of a Canosa di Puglia high school lies a chamber tomb whose painted doorway bears a frieze of Cerberus, the three-headed guardian of the underworld. The early third-century BC fresco is a rare survival among the ancient tombs of Canusium.

Why it matters

The tomb preserves an early third-century BC painted scene associated with the deductio ad inferos, the passage of the dead into the afterlife. Cerberus stands at its centre, guarding the entrance to the underworld. Discovered during construction of the town’s scientific high school, the tomb also records how ancient remains came to light during Canosa’s modern growth.

What to notice

The frieze runs above the doorway of the tomb’s latest chamber. Hermes, guide of souls, leads a shrouded figure; a warrior with lance and shield follows, leading a horse, an image associated with the deceased’s equestrian rank. At the damaged right side, parts of a second horse and two draped female figures remain. Cerberus presides over the procession. The doorway is trapezoidal and edged with red bands on white plaster, with palmette acroteria above.

Context and history

The tomb was discovered in 1972 during earthworks for the Liceo Scientifico Enrico Fermi in the contrada Costantinopoli district. The burial had already been robbed, and the upper part of the monument was damaged during construction. Cut into clay, the complex comprises an inclined dromos, a vestibule and four chambers, including a small trapezoidal room added against the vestibule in the early third century BC. The painted frieze decorates the doorway of this later chamber. The tomb’s Greek-derived architecture places its original core between the fourth and third centuries BC.