Editing Cumae (section)

====Crypta Romana====
The Crypta Romana is a tunnel dug into the tufa under the Cuma hill, crossing the acropolis in an east-west direction, giving an easier route from the city to the sea. Its construction is part of the set of military enhancement works built by [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa|Agrippa]] for Augustus and designed by Lucius [[Cocceius Auctus]] in 37 BC, including the construction of the new Portus Iulius and its connection with the port of Cumae through the so-called Grotta di Cocceio and the Crypta Romana itself.

With the displacement of the fleet from Portus Iulius to the port of Miseno in 12 BCE and the end of the Civil War between Octavian and Mark Antony in 31 BCE the tunnel lost its strategic value. The forum entrance was made monumental with 4 statue niches in 95 AD at the same time as the Arco Felice was built.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41587083| title=McKAY, A. (1997). THE MONUMENTS OF CUMAE. Vergilius, 43, 78-88. |website=www.jstor.org| jstor=41587083 }} </ref> An avalanche closed the sea entrance in the 3rd c. After 397 it was reopened. In the Christian age it was used as a cemetery area; in the 6th c. the Byzantine general Narsete tried to use it to reach the city during the siege of Cumae, but weakened the structure and a large section of the vault collapsed.

It was brought to light between 1925 and 1931 by the archaeologist Amedeus Maiuri.