The Lombards
5.
This female tomb was discovered by chance on November 8, 1950, during renovation work in the cellars of a building on Borgo della Posta. It contained an exceptionally rich funerary assemblage.
The highlight is a disc-shaped fibula, one of the most exquisite examples of 7th-century Lombard goldsmithing. The gold disc is set with garnets and almandine stones, carefully cut and placed in a delicate golden framework with irregular edges that let the gold gleam through in the background. The decoration unfolds in three concentric circles, each with its own geometric motif. The middle band features tiny gold plates engraved with a burin, while the outer and central bands were originally set with large gemstones—now lost by the time the tomb was uncovered.
Other items in the burial included two gold rings, a mercury-gilded belt fitting, and a necklace made up of two gold-foil bullae and various elements crafted from materials like amethyst, aquamarine, rock crystal, glass paste, bone, and terracotta. There were also five repoussé gold plaques and a thin gold wire, likely used to adorn the woman’s clothing, as well as a fine gold-foil cross—probably sewn onto her veil—and a large bronze basin of Coptic origin.
The lavishness of the tomb and the presence of the basin, possibly linked to baptismal rites, led to the hypothesis that the woman buried here could have been the daughter of King Agilulf, who married Godescalc of Parma and died in childbirth in 604 AD. While this remains only a fascinating theory, the burial—dated to the first quarter of the 7th century—clearly belonged to a woman of high rank, far beyond what was typical for the period.
6a.
These weapons, likely once part of different male grave goods, come from unknown locations in the Parma area. They include a single-edged short sword (scramasax) dating to the first half of the 7th century, a hunting spear from the 7th or 8th century, and an arrowhead from the 6th or 7th century. Grooves on the blade of the sword and on the socket of the spear were designed to help blood drain more efficiently.
6b.
Discovered in 1998 at the site of a Lombard burial ground that had been destroyed during reforestation work, these nine items belonged to a complex belt system used to carry a sword. The set includes a buckle, three main strap ends, two smaller ones, and three decorative studs. Crafted in iron and inlaid with silver and garnets, they are adorned with fine horizontal engravings. Dating from the late 7th to early 8th century, these pieces once belonged to one or more individuals of high status.
7a.
In 1990, ten Lombard tombs were unearthed on Via Pellico, in the outskirts of the ancient city, near a Roman rural building. The finds included bone combs, a belt buckle, a circular piece carved from deer antler—likely a dress ornament—and a pierced shell of the type traditionally used to extract purple dye.
Among the many Lombard grave goods found in the city, two stand out for their refinement: a pair of gilded silver stirrup fibulae with animal motifs, dating to the second half of the 6th century and found in Borgo Valorio, and a 7th-century gold cross from Borgo Angelo Mazza, decorated with a braided dotted pattern.
7b.
Tombs uncovered on Via Marconi yielded a bronze bracelet (armilla) with thickened ends—an ornament commonly found in 7th-century female burials—along with rectangular belt fittings with studs and loops, a dagger, and conical pendants in decorated bone.
The gold cross comes from one of four tombs discovered in Piazza Garibaldi (Isolato Mazzini) in 1948 and is dated to the late 6th or early 7th century.
The gold tremisses (coins worth one-third of a solidus) are Lombard and barbarian imitations of Byzantine coins issued under Emperors Justinian I (527–565) and Maurice Tiberius (582–602); they were found in different locations, such as Neviano degli Arduini and Piazzale Cesare Battisti, or are part of the museum’s collection of coins with unknown provenance.
8.
Excavations beneath Palazzo Sanvitale, in the northeast part of the ancient city, uncovered about twenty burials, most with only a few grave goods. Among the most notable finds are the grave of an infant buried with a bone comb (6th–7th century) and the burial of an adult accompanied by glass-paste beads, an iron buckle with an oval frame, and the remains of a scramasax with its leather sheath. Also found in this grave were a comb and four small knives, now fused together by corrosion. A partially preserved iron object, likely worn by women at the waist on ribbons, may have been either a decorative clasp for a bag or a wheel-shaped amulet.
9.
In Lombard times, the area of Collecchio (southwest of Parma) was crossed by a major road connecting Pavia—the kingdom’s capital—to the duchies of Tuscia. The cemetery discovered at the Fornace Mutti clay quarry, fully excavated in 1979, consisted of around sixty tombs, mostly made of stone and brick and covered with reused Roman roof tiles. Many of these graves were used for multiple burials, with a total of 154 individuals laid to rest.
Grave goods included items of women’s dress (belts, rings, glass-paste necklaces, pierced coins, earrings), men’s accessories (multi-part bronze belt fittings, often decorated with silver inlay), weapons (sometimes in miniature), and objects thought to have protective powers, such as combs and fire strikers.
In the upper section of the display case is a particularly rich set of grave goods belonging to three men. It includes at least two multi-strap belts with duck-bill-shaped terminals, horse-head studs, a comb, fire strikers, and shoe buckles.
In the lower section, the items come from the shared grave of two adolescents. Only one of them was buried with a leather belt—identified by the remaining tip, buckle, and three rivets— from which a scramasax and a dagger once hung, now found fused together by corrosion.
Pottery fragments were especially numerous both inside and outside the graves. In one case, a fine clay cup was placed on the pelvis of an adult woman buried together with a man and an infant—the latter accompanied by glass-paste beads and a pierced coin.