During the Roman Empire much use was made of underground necropolis. A Hypogeum is an underground tomb with loculi and one or more chambers for multiple burials. The best examples are found at Dura Europos and Palmyra (1st3rd centuries AD). That of the Aurelii at Rome (early 3rd century AD) was built on several levels and contained both Christian and pagan paintings.
The Aurelii family hypogeum was discovered at the beginning of the twentieth century in Viale Manzoni. The burial place comprises an area bounded by an enclosure, a semi-hypogeum biculum, and two underground rooms. The three rooms are entirely decorated with fresco.
The picture shows detail of a fresco with a depiction of a shepherd shown as a scholar.
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