Amongst the archaeological structures investigated recently, several tomb groups from San Salvatore, on the right bank of the river Bradano, are of considerable importance. One monumental tomb, constructed with thick slabs of local conglomerate, contained a proto-Lucanian hydria of the Amykos Painter. The figured scene shows three young men and a woman in the act of displaying her wedding casket. Inside the vase were the cremated remains of the deceased. The burnt remains of the funerary ritual were identified outside the tomb and on top of its covering. In the necropoli of Metaponto, both urban and extra-urban, this type of ritual is quite rare. Its particular iconographical references usually seem to identify the exclusive role of people with important social status. The presence of a bronze strigil could indicate a male deposition, even though recent finds indicate that this instrument for use in the gymnasium is often a connotation of female depositions accompanied by rich tomb groups. (Maria Luisa Nava)