Tomba di Cà' Morta | |
 Negau helmet discovered in the Ca' Morta tomb | |
 | |
| Alternative name | Tombe III/1928 Casa di Morti |
|---|---|
| Location | Italy |
| Region | Italy |
| Coordinates | 45°49′00″N 9°05′00″E / 45.81667°N 9.08333°E |
| Length | 0,64 m2[notes 1] |
The Ca' Morta tomb is a Celtic chariot tomb located in the necropolis of the same name to the west of the city of Como, in Italy's Lombardy region. The burial chamber, covered by a tumulus, contains the ashes of a woman of princely status, accompanied by furnishings. Thanks to the exceptional quality of the objects unearthed, this tomb is a precious testimony to Celtic culture at the time, particularly in terms of craft techniques, intra-European trade and the role of women in society.
The material evidence shows that the deceased was of Celtic origin, and that the site belongs to the Italo-Celtic "Golasecca" culture, which, like the Hallstatt culture, is a Celtic culture in Early Iron Age Europe.
While the burial area was first excavated in 1891, the tomb was discovered in 1928. Radiocarbon analysis reveals that the foundation of the tomb dates from approximately the middle of the 5th century BC (-450), which means that this Italo-Celtic burial site can be attributed to the "Golasecca III / GIIIA" period, and more precisely to the "eastern" facies of the Golasecca culture.
Among the artifacts discovered, archaeologists note a remarkable four-wheeled chariot. The vehicle, used for ritual purposes, displays features typical of the "Hallstatt culture". The abundance and refinement of the furnishings found in the burial site suggest that this was a princely tomb: the objects are all of high-quality workmanship. Numerous items of Etruscan laminated bronze crockery and Attic black-figure and red-figure ceramics evoke trade relations with Padanian Etruria on the one hand, and Magna Graecia and the Italic territories on the other.
Among these objects, archaeologists unearthed a Negau helmet,[notes 2] the only weaponry found in the tomb.
Finally, numerous elements - ancient, epigraphic, and archaeological sources - indicate that the woman, whose cremated remains lie in the urn of "tomb III/1928", was probably of Orobian stock, and that her mother tongue was Lepontic.
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