La necropoli romana di Melano (Canton Ticino – Svizzera): Struttura e cronologia. Tipologia delle sepolture. Corredi funerari e materiali: Il Castello e il Castellaccio di Melano

The Roman necropolis of Melano (Canton Ticino, Switzerland), excavated in 1957 and 1979, is one of the few from this period discovered in the Sottoceneri region, where the findings are mostly isolated burials or those in small groups. It consists of 26 cremation and inhumation tombs and stands out for its variety of types and the materials used in their construction. Cremation burials, the most numerous, range from the simplest, single-chamber burials, up to double-chamber and multiple cinerary niches. Inhumation tombs, generally belonging to children or adolescents, have yielded clues as to the use of wooden boxes as coffins or the placement of the body on a cot or stretcher. The grave goods include all the main material classes of the Roman period typical of the region, together with finds that bear the imprint of a centre that developed along the shores of Lake Ceresio and activities related to it, such as fishing. The stratigraphy of the necropolis and the grave goods indicate continuous use from the 1st to the 3rd century AD.