The return of the Eretum Chariot

Eretum Chariot

Rome [ENA] Saturday 16 March 2024 was a special day for the territory and for the community of Fara in Sabina, 51 km. from Rome, but province of Rieti: amidst enthusiasm and great emotions, the room dedicated to the precious funerary objects of famous Tomb of the Chariot of the Prince of Eretum. The Civic Archaeological Museum of Fara in Sabina, after years of synergistic work and scrupulous attention, has finally welcomed

The Chariot of Eretum

the find which not only represents an invaluable heritage for Sabina, but also symbolizes the fruit of a recovery (followed by a treatment of restoration) made possible by the synergistic work of the Municipality of Fara in Sabina and the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the metropolitan area of Rome and the province of Rieti. The Civic Archaeological Museum of Fara in Sabina is one of the points of reference for the knowledge of the Sabine civilization, as it preserves materials from the two most important centers of the Tiber Sabina: Cures and Eretum. Set up since 2001 inside the Renaissance Palazzo Brancaleoni (located in Piazza del Duomo), it has seen - over the years - the enrichment of its collections,

The Chariot bronze decorations

thanks to the excavations carried out regularly in Cures and Eretum. Inside the museum, work has been completed for the definitive setting up of another room, dedicated to a tomb whose grave goods were the protagonists of some of the most troubled and at times daring events in the history of archaeology: the Tomb XI of Colle del Forno, better known as Tomba del Carro (Tomb of the Chariot). The ancient Sabine city is known only for the necropolis of Colle del Forno, located on a hill in the Casacotta area in the territory of Montelibretti (RM), in an area destined for a long time to the breeding of horses of the Italian Royal Army and then , since the early seventies, as a research area of the CNR (National Research Council).

Museum of Fara in Sabina

It was precisely during the establishment of the laboratories of the Research Area that the Tomb started a long and troubled history, after the looting by illegal grave robber, led the chariot to appear on display at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen and was subsequently recovered by the Italian authorities -, to find its definitive location in the Civic Archaeological Museum of Fara in Sabina ( Rieti). Once recognized as pertinent to the Sabine civilization, it was possible to return it to Sabina: now in the context of museum where the grave goods from the other tombs of the Eretum necropolis have been on display for some time.

Thanks to the synergy between the Municipal Administration of Fara in Sabina, the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan Area of Rome and the Province of Rieti, and thanks to the technical-scientific contribution of various professionals, this room that will allow everyone, and definitively, to marvel at the sight of the stupendous objects of Tomb XI.