Tomb of the Diver

Tomb of the Diver
Tomba del Tuffatore
fresco painting showing a nude youth diving from a wall or tower into water below
Detail from the underside of the top slab of the grave, showing a man diving into waves .
map of Italy indicating the approximate the position of the tomb
map of Italy indicating the approximate the position of the tomb
Shown within Italy
LocationCampania
Coordinates40°24′N 15°00′E / 40.4°N 15.0°E / 40.4; 15.0
History
MaterialLocal limestone
Founded5th century BCE
Site notes
ConditionContents moved to National Museum of Paestum
Public accessto museum

The Tomb of the Diver (Italian: Tomba del tuffatore), now in the museum at Paestum, Italy, is a frescoed tomb that dates to around 500 to 475 BCE,[1] and is famous for the mysterious subject matter of the ceiling fresco, a lone diver leaping into a pool of water. The context of the tomb is disputed: there has been scholarly debate about whether the tomb was built by people from the nearby Greek settlement of "Poseidonia", now Paestum, or by an ancient Italic tribe living in the surrounding countryside. The tomb was built with five large stone slabs, each with a fresco attributed to one of two artists. The four walls are decorated with scenes of a symposium which is uncommon for a funerary context.

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