Situated along the Via delle Tombe, which extends from the Porta Nocera toward the Sarno River and the route to Nuceria Alfaterna, the necropolis was developed in accordance with Roman legal and religious prescriptions that required burials to be located outside the city’s pomerium. The site includes hundreds of tombs belonging to freedmen, local elites, and military personnel. These tombs range from modest enclosures and columellae to elaborate aediculae and monumental altars, many accompanied by detailed inscriptions and funerary iconography. Excavated initially in the 20th century and again in more recent campaigns, the necropolis provides a representative cross-section of Pompeian society in death.

circa 150 BCE

Samnite Period
During this early phase (circa 4th–3rd century BCE), the area outside Porta Nocera likely began to be used for burial, though archaeological evidence is limited. Burials from this period were typically simple inhumations with minimal grave goods. The funerary landscape remained largely unmonumentalized.

Roman Republic
During this period (circa 2nd–1st century BCE), with Pompeii’s increasing Romanization, funerary architecture became more formalized. The construction of paved roads and formal entrances such as Porta Nocera integrated the necropolis into a civic and visual itinerary. Tomb types diversified, including early columellae, cippi, and enclosures with inscribed altars. The burial of freedmen becomes particularly evident in this period, reflecting socio-political mobility within the Roman framework.

Early Imperial Period
This period (27 BCE–79 CE) marks the greatest expansion and monumentalization of the necropolis. Many tombs from this phase display architectural sophistication, including aediculae with sculptural elements, painted decoration, and extensive inscriptions. The necropolis reflects the funerary ideology of early Imperial Rome, including commemoration of marital virtues, civic office, military service, and personal achievements. There is also evidence of funerary banqueting, as seen in dedicated dining structures (triclinia) within tomb precincts. The necropolis ceased functioning as a burial ground abruptly in 79 CE, in line with the destruction and abandonment of Pompeii as a whole.

circa 50 BCE

The "Via delle tombe di Porta Nocera" (street of the tombs of Nocera Gate) is a stretch of road just outside the Porta Nocera, running north-east to south-west for a length of approximately 250 meters. The via Nocera merges in to the via delle tombe approx 40 meters to the south of the Porta Nocera and is marked by a cippus (inspect). The street derives its name from the large number of tombs that line the street on both sides. Flanked on both sides by a dense concentration of tombs, the road functioned not only as a thoroughfare leading toward Nuceria Alfaterna but also as a highly visible commemorative space. The alignment of tombs along the Via delle Tombe reflects Roman legal and religious requirements that burials be placed outside the city walls, but its layout also reveals a carefully curated urban extension, where social memory, identity, and status were materially expressed. Excavations in this area, particularly near the Necropolis of Porta Nocera, have yielded critical insights into the funerary customs and stratified social fabric of Pompeian society in the final century before the eruption of 79 CE.

circa 50 BCE

Tomb of the Stronnii
The Tomb of the Stronnii is a monumental altar tomb located in the Porta Nocera necropolis in Pompeii. It's characterized by its structure, which includes two lions carved from tuff on top. The tomb also features an inscription and is situated on the southwest side of Via delle Tombe.

circa 50 BCE

Tomb of Eumachia
The Tomb of Eumachia, designated Tomb 11OS in the Porta Nocera necropolis of Pompeii, is a monumental funerary enclosure situated along the southwest side of the Via delle Tombe. It was constructed as a mausoleum of Eumachia's family, a powerful priestess of Venus and public benefactor known for her patronage of the fullers’ guild and the construction of the Building of Eumachia in the Forum. It consists of a broad rectangular precinct fronted by a low masonry wall, which forms the visual and physical boundary between the tomb and the road. This enclosure wall contains two commemorative plaques: one on the eastern side (inspect), inscribed EVMACHIA L F (Eumachia, daughter of Lucius), and the other on the western side, inscribed SIBI ET SVIS ("for herself and her own"). The tomb entrance is centrally positioned within the front wall, marked by a lava stone doorway fitted with an iron ring handle. The doorway opens onto a terrace platform, accessed by lava stone steps, which leads to the inner burial area and the monumental elements of the structure.

At the heart of the tomb is a large exedra, or open-air monumental seating area, built in U-shaped form, designed to serve both as a space for remembrance and possibly for funerary banquets or gatherings. The north side of this exedra includes an extended terrace, bordered by a parapet, and provides a raised area from which visitors could engage in ritual or commemorative activities. The architectural massing of the tomb follows the logic of visibility and public interaction: positioned directly on the roadside, the structure integrates commemorative inscriptions and burial markers in a layout that emphasizes lineage, status, and personal remembrance.

Inside the enclosure, thirteen columellae (upright funerary markers for cremated remains) were found, four of which bore inscriptions, indicating a multigenerational and multi-personal burial. These included memorials to Lucius Eumachius Aprilis, who died at age 20; Gnaeus Alleius Eros, a freedman and Augustalis who died at 22; Gnaeus Alleius Logus, a respected member of all local guilds; and Pomponia Decharcis, mother of Alleius Maius. The layout and density of columellae, along with the elevated terrace and the exedra configuration, underscore the tomb’s dual function as a locus of elite funerary display and collective familial memory. This complex represents one of the best-preserved and most architecturally elaborate examples in the Porta Nocera necropolis, embodying the fusion of social hierarchy, patronage, and funerary practice in the early Imperial context of Pompeii.

circa 150 BCE

Tomb of Marcus Octavius and Vertia Philumina
The Tomb of Marcus Octavius and Vertia Philumina, identified as Tomb 13OS in the Porta Nocera necropolis of Pompeii, is a substantial funerary monument located on the eastern side of the Via delle Tombe, directly adjoining Tomb 11OS to the west. The tomb follows a rectangular precinct plan, enclosed by walls and lacking a roof in its preserved state. The tomb’s front façade originally bore a Latin commemorative inscription engraved on a marble plaque, now missing but recorded in early surveys. The inscription reads:

M(arcus) OCTAVIUS M(arci) F(ilius)
MEN(enia) ET VERTIA G(aiae) L(iberta) PHILUMINA IN LOCO COMMUNI MONUMENT(um)
COMMUNEM SIBEI POSTEREISQUE SUEIS FECERUNT.

Marcus Octavius, son of Marcus, and Vertia Philumina, freedwoman of Gaia, of the Menenian tribe, made (this) shared monument for themselves and their descendants in a common place.

The formula indicates the co-ownership and shared burial rights of the tomb, likely reflecting a freedman–freedwoman household arrangement, common in Pompeian society. The inscription's phrasing and lettering style point to a construction date in the early to mid–1st century CE, although the exact decade remains uncertain. Architecturally, Tomb 13OS was designed as an open-air precinct without a superstructure, centered around a paved interior platform, possibly intended for columellae, altars, or commemorative gatherings. The monument’s location near prominent tombs such as that of Eumachia (11OS) suggests the occupants’ aspiration to associate with socially elevated or publicly recognized funerary contexts.

Photographic records from 1959 to 2024 show that the tomb included three freestanding statues placed along its rear wall: a female figure, a soldier in military dress, and an elderly male. While the identification of these figures is not epigraphically confirmed, they likely represent commemorative portraits of the tomb’s owners or their familial ancestors. These statues indicate a degree of wealth and sculptural patronage, uncommon in lower-status tombs. The tomb's absence of a roof, visible in photographs as early as the 1970s, may have been intentional or the result of post-eruption damage. The structure today retains parts of its plastered interior walls, especially on the eastern side, which may have once held painted decoration or additional inscriptions.

In sum, Tomb 13OS provides important evidence of mid-Imperial funerary practices among freedpersons, including shared ownership, commemorative statuary, and legal declarations of burial rights. Its architectural form and inscriptions place it firmly within the evolving landscape of social mobility, memory, and representation in 1st-century CE Pompeii.

circa 150 BCE

Tomb of Melissaea, M. Servilius (Father) and M. Servilius (Son)
The Tomb of Melissaea in Pompeii is a well-known funerary monument located in the Necropolis of Porta Nocera, specifically on the Via delle Tombe. It is identified as Tomb 30EN and commemorates Melissaea, daughter of Numerius Melissaeus, and two individuals named Marcus Servilius, likely father and son. The tomb features a marble plaque with an inscription that includes the names: MELISSAEAE N(umeri) F(iliae) M(arco) SERVILIO P(atri) M(arco) SERVILIO F(ilio).

The tomb is situated on the northeast side of the Via delle Tombe, near the Porta Nocera. It's part of a larger complex of tombs, including the Tomb of an unidentified person (Tomb 28EN) and others. The tombs in this area showcase a variety of styles and were built during the Samnite period (5th-4th century BC). They often contained grave goods and were placed outside the city gates, originally the Herculaneum Gate

circa 50 BCE

Tomb 22EN
The tomb designated as 22EN belongs to Lucius Publicius Syneros, Aebia Fausta, Lucius Aebius Aristo and Aebia Hilara. The inscription on the small plaque set in the perdiment of the tomb reads:

L(ucius) Publicius Syneros
et Aebiae L(uci) l(ibertae) Faustae
et L(ucio) Aebio L(uci) l(iberto) Aristoni patr(i)
et Aebiae L(uci) l(ibertae) Hilarae
sibi et suis.

Lucius Publicius Syneros,
and Aebia Fausta, freedwoman of Lucius,
and Lucius Aebius Aristo, freedman of Lucius, the father,
and Aebia Hilara, freedwoman of Lucius,
—for themselves and their own (family/household).

circa 50 BCE

Tomb of Castricia Prisca
The Tomb of Castricia Prisca (25aOS) at Porta Nocera in Pompeii commemorates a freedwoman named Castricia Prisca, the daughter of Gaia. The structure, once adorned with painted cherubs, birds, and garlands on its façade, reflects the modest yet personalized funerary expressions typical of the necropolis. An inscribed plaque affixed to the tomb front reads:

CASTRICIA G(aiae) LIB(ertae) PRISCAE VIXIT ANNIS XXV HIC SITA EST

The inscription marks her identity as a freedwoman and noting her young age at death—twenty-five years. Inside the tomb, a columella set centrally against the rear wall repeats the same inscription, carved in abbreviated form: The preservation of both external and internal epitaphs, along with the decorative program, suggests a degree of care and remembrance extended to Prisca, underscoring the visibility and commemorative rights granted to freedwomen in Pompeian society. The tomb, listed as SAP inventory number 21003, stands along the Via delle Tombe, near the intersection with Via di Nocera, a prominent funerary axis within the Porta Nocera necropolis.

circa 50 BCE

Aedicula Tomb of the Vesonii and Orfellii
The Aedicula Tomb of Publius Vesonius Phileros (Tomb 23OS) outside the Porta Nocera in Pompeii is a richly documented and symbolically charged funerary monument. Excavations have focused on reconstructing the burial history and ritual practices associated with the site, revealing a complex narrative of social relationships, self-presentation, and betrayal. Central to the tomb’s identity is Publius Vesonius Phileros himself, a freedman and Augustalis, who erected the monument during his lifetime for himself, his patrona Vesonia, and his friend Marcus Orfellius Faustus. Their three statues once stood on the façade—Vesonia in the center, flanked by Phileros and Orfellius—visually narrating their social hierarchy and affiliations.

Inside the tomb enclosure, this hierarchy shifts. Eighteen herms, including those of Phileros, Vesonia, and Orfellius, were found; yet, notably, the herms of Phileros and Orfellius were placed side by side in the central axis, while Vesonia’s was offset. A dramatic gesture underscores a later rupture in relationships: Orfellius’s herm had been deliberately sliced off at its base, indicating a posthumous rejection. This corresponds with a bitter inscription carved on the tomb’s podium, in which Phileros accuses his supposed friend of betrayal, celebrates his own vindication, and curses Orfellius’s memory.

Ritual traces inside the tomb further illuminate funerary practices: burnt pig bones suggest shared meals at the grave, while a coin scorched on a pyre was interred in an urn with the deceased's ashes. Inscriptions bearing Phileros’s name were found on a boundary marker, on plaster sealing the tomb, and on a herm marking his burial—underscoring his lasting claim to the site.

The tomb also served as a family monument. Sixteen columellae (funerary markers) were discovered, five of which bear names: Publius Vesonius Phileros, Vesonia (daughter of Publius), their presumed children Publius Vesonius Proculus (aged 13) and Vesonia Urbana (aged 20), and a youth named Heliodorus (aged 18), likely a household slave. While Wallace-Hadrill interpreted the familial layout to suggest that Vesonia was both patrona and partner of Phileros, later scholars like Porter and Weaver argue that a freeborn patrona marrying her libertus would have been socially and legally questionable. The tomb’s spatial organization—such as the central placement of Proculus’s marker and the positioning of the freedmen’s and patrona’s graves—adds further complexity to interpreting family dynamics.

Despite the modest 32 m² size of the tomb, it was heavily frequented and modified. More than 30 burials were carried out here over less than a century, turning the site into a densely layered space for memory, ritual, and evolving relationships among the dead. As Lepetz and Van Andringa note, this cemetery space, though for the dead, was as active and multifaceted as the city of the living.

circa 50 BCE

Tomb of Publius Flavius Philoxsenus and Flavia Agathea
The Tomb of Publius Flavius Philoxsenus and Flavia Agathea, Acastus, and Spiron is located in the Porta Nocera necropolis of Pompeii. This tomb, specifically designated as 7OS, is situated along the Via delle Tombe, Pompeii's main funerary avenue. It is a collective tomb, meaning it housed multiple individuals, which was common for non-elite residents of Pompeii. The inscriptions on the tomb provide details about the social standing and origins of those buried there.