Le pitture della Tomba di Demetria-N83 a Cirene: nuova restituzione grafica, nuove questioni interpretative

The Tomb N83, also known as Tomb of Demetria because of an inscription painted inside the funerary chamber, is one of the most famous contexts preserved in the northern necropolis of Cyrene. Reproduced in drawings, watercolours and engravings by French and English travellers, who visited the ancient site during the 19th century, the tomb has been included in later studies concerning the city necropolis, but the principal edition of its architectural, painting and epigraphic components is due to Bacchielli, Reynolds, and Rees. Surveys conducted in 2009-10 at Cyrene in the northern necropolis to map the preservation status of the painted tombs, gave me the opportunity for a new investigation of the context, with a systematic and direct review of the archival and edited documents related to its paintings. Two different layers of plaster and consequently two chronological phases of the decoration never recorded before have been distinguished. It’s a relevant acquisition, which implicates a general review of the archaeological, historical and cultural interpretation of the monument. In this perspective, newly the present contribution analyses the N83’s wall-paintings and offers a new graphic restitution and selected photographs useful to the archaeological and historical discussion of them.