Editing Cumae (section)

==Archaeology==

Despite the abandonment of the area of Cumae due to the formation of marshes, the memory of the ancient city remained alive. The ruins, although in a state of neglect, were later visited by many artists and with the repopulation of the area due to land reclamation, short excavation campaigns were made. The first excavations date to 1606 when thirteen statues and two marble bas-reliefs were found; later finds included the large statue of Jupiter from the Masseria del Gigante exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. However, after the discovery of the Vesuvian sites the attention of the Bourbon explorers was diverted there and the Cumae area was abandoned and plundered of numerous finds which were then sold to private individuals. A first campaign of systematic excavations took place between 1852 and 1857 under Prince Leopoldo, brother of Ferdinando II of the Two Sicilies<ref>Paolo Caputo u. a.: Cuma e il suo Parco Archeologico. Un territorio e le sue testimonianze. Bardi, Roma 1996</ref> when the area of the Masseria del Gigante and some necropoles were explored. Later Emilio Stevens was given the concession and worked at Cumae between 1878 and 1893, completing the excavation of the necropolis, even though news of the various finds led to a continuous looting of the area.

A disaster occurred between 1910 and 1922 when draining of Lake Licola caused part of the necropolis to be destroyed.

[[File:Galleria Crypta Romana, Cuma.jpg|thumb|left|Crypta Romana]]
The explorations of the acropolis started in 1911, bringing to light the Temple of Apollo. Between 1924 and 1934 Amedeo Maiuri and Vittorio Spinazzola investigated the Temple of Jupiter, the Cave of the Sibyl and the Crypta Romana, while between 1938 and 1953 the lower city was explored. A chance discovery occurred in 1992 when during the construction of a gas pipeline near the beach a temple of Isis was discovered. In 1994 the "Kyme" project was activated for the restoration of the site. Excavation of the [[tholos tomb]] was completed, first partly explored in 1902. In the area of the forum a basilica-shaped building, the Aula Sillana, was discovered, while along the coastline three maritime villas were found.

Since 2001 the CNRS has been excavating a necropolis dating from 6th to 1st c. BCE outside the Porta mediana.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://centrejeanberard.cnrs.fr/spip.php?article34&lang=fr|title = Cumes - Centre Jean Bérard}}</ref>

In June 2018 a painted tomb dating to the 2nd century BCE and depicting a banquet scene was discovered.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3154.htm|title=Painted tomb discovered in Cumae (Italy) : A banquet frozen in time|work=CNRS|date=25 September 2018}}</ref>