The Brygos Tomb Reassembled and 19th-Century Commerce in Capuan Antiquities

Abstract

This article reexamines the dispersed contents of a number of tombs, in particular the so-called Brygos Tomb, discovered in the 19th century at Capua in Campania. In so doing, it also comments on some of the personalities involved in the discovery and dispersal, especially Alessandro Castellani and Wolfgang Helbig, and on their activities in the antiquities market, including the sale of the so-called Pennelli Sarcophagus to the British Museum. The contents of four tombs are discussed in detail, culminating in Tomb II, the Brygos Tomb. A vase not previously associated with the Brygos Tomb is added and the iconography of the whole assembly discussed. It is suggested that the tomb belonged to a Greek, rather than an Etruscan, and that the Greek might even have been an Athenian, if the iconography of the vases placed with the deceased is a reliable guide.