The Longobard Period

Archaeological artefacts from the Longobard period (568 - 756 A.D.) mainly come from tombs and from several churches.
The two biggest most important necropoles in the Vicenza area have been found in Sovizzo and in Dueville.
Most of the pieces on show were found by Giovanni Curti who carried out excavations in Sovizzo at the start of the 1900s and uncovered at least two hundred tombs.
Artefacts buried with men include swords with inlay work and scramasax (short sword with single cutting edge), pieces of belts in bronze and iron featuring agemina inlaid work with rich geometric and animal-type decorations, lance tips and shield umbos, one of which is decorated with stylised human figures and shears for cutting beards and hair.
While those from women’s tombs include pieces of glass paste necklaces, earrings and bronze hairpins.
Common to both men and women’s tombs are iron knives, fire steels and numerous combs, including one with its own case and an exceptional set of two combs with their own box.
Among the pottery, glass and metal objects, mention must be made of a bowl in bronze and a small bucket, probably used for serving beer.

Two particularly fine finds come from chance excavations in 1911 in Dueville: a gold ring with engraved glass paste stone (currently not on show) and a small cross in gold sheet with anthropomorphic decorations, which would have been sewn onto the shroud.
The same room also houses two splendid stirrup-shaped fibulas with cloisonné decoration from the Ostrogoth period (early 6th Century A.D.) from Villalta di Cittadella in the province of Padua.