Crustumerium, Death and Afterlife at the Gates of Rome

2014

"The late 7th and 6th century BC in Central Italy have long been regarded as obscure, because only a small number of graves could be ascribed to this period and because these tombs generally contained very few or no grave gifts. However, recent excavations at the burial grounds surrounding the Latial settlement Crustumerium (near Rome) have yielded a fairly large number of tombs dating to this period, shedding new light on this poorly understood period. The study of the Crustumerian funerary archive has revealed a number of remarkable changes in the funerary rituals after the end of the 7th century BC. Apart from a dwindling number of grave gifts granted to deceased individuals, the period witnessed the introduction of more monumental tombs for the deposition of more than one burial. In addition, it seems that people abided less strongly by former strict rules for the treatment of the bodies and the spacing, orientation and closing of the tombs. Many of the changes in the burial customs seem to be prompted by a shifting locus of investment of the elite; from the sepulchral areas to the now urbanised settlements. The developments can also be viewed as the result of an altered ideological concept of death and afterlife. Overall, the funerary archive of Crustumerium has proven to be of great importance to bring a previously obscure period “into the light”."

TMA supplement 3, 2024

The Crustumerium Project, carried out between 2006 and 2018 by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology, in close collaboration with the archaeological service of Rome, aimed to explore the ancient settlement of Crustumerium (Lazio, Italy). Led by Peter Attema and Albert Nijboer, the project involved extensive excavations, geophysical surveys, and interdisciplinary research initiatives. In honour of Peter’s retirement, we highlight some of the key findings of the project while also suggesting avenues for future research. Initially focusing on the necropolis of Monte Del Bufalo, the project gradually shifted towards investigating the settlement and its infrastructure. Key findings include insights into Crustumerium’s defensive systems and the development of urban characteristics over time. The project also shed light on the Roman phase of the area, uncovering two multi-phased Roman villas. Despite significant advancements, numerous unanswered questions persist, particularly regarding the monumental defensive ditch (fossato), the connection between the defensive system and the road network, and the location of industrial facilities and monumental buildings.

BAR INTERNATIONAL SERIES, 2008

This article presents some preliminary results from the excavations of the Remembering the Dead project in the Archaic cemetery area of Cisterna Grande (Crustumerium, Rome, Italy). The article discusses the materialities of the tombs and the different postdepositional formation processes affecting them. It is acknowledged that we encounter transformed materialities, and thus, the concept of postdepositional history is introduced in this context. This concept is suggested to incorporate the way in which different postdepositional processes and events have affected human behaviour both in the past and in the present.

BAR INTERNATIONAL SERIES

This article presents some preliminary results from the excavations of the Remembering the Dead project in the Archaic cemetery area of Cisterna Grande (Crustumerium, Rome, Italy). The article discusses the materialities of the tombs and the different ...

Death and the Societies of Late Antiquity : New methods, new questions? [en ligne]. Aix-en-Provence : Presses universitaires de Provence, 2023

The archaeological remains of a vast and well-preserved necropolis, which has become the focus of a new interdisciplinary research project, follow the Via Ostiensis in Rome. These monumental tombs were continuously used by the middle echelon from the 2nd century BCE until the 4th century CE, and illustrate the transition from cremation to inhumation as the preferred burial custom. Most of the exposed burial spaces retain deposits of human remains in situ. A new interdisciplinary research project aims to completely re-examine the entire area and its material, including human remains, epigraphic material and artefacts. The Via Ostiensis Necropolis is a privileged site for investigating the transition of funerary practices, rituals, and mentalities towards death elicited by Christianity, illustrated most clearly by the shift from cremation to inhumation. This transition is observable in the reorganization of the spaces and the funerary architecture, where, despite the shift from paganism to Christianity, both types of burial practices coexist, and the later burials respect the sacredness of the cremations previously deposited. Les vestiges archéologiques d'une vaste nécropole bien préservée, qui fait l'objet d'un nouveau projet de recherche interdisciplinaire, suivent la Via Ostiensis à Rome. Ces tombes monumentales ont été utilisées de façon continue depuis la moitié du iie siècle avant notre ère jusqu'au ive siècle de notre ère, et illustrent la transition de la pratique de la crémation à celle de l'inhumation comme coutume funéraire préférentielle. La plupart des espaces funéraires exhumés conservent des dépôts de restes humains in situ. Un nouveau projet de recherche interdisciplinaire vise à réexaminer complètement l'ensemble de la zone et son matériel, y compris les restes humains, le matériel épigraphique et les artefacts. La nécropole de la Via Ostiensis est un site privilégié pour étudier la transition des pratiques funéraires, des rituels et des mentalités à l'égard de la mort suscitée par le christianisme, illustrée plus clairement par le passage de la crémation à l'inhumation. Cette transition est observable dans la réorganisation des espaces et de l'architecture funéraire, où, malgré le passage du paganisme au christianisme, les deux types de pratiques funéraires coexistent, et les inhumations plus tardives respectent la sacralité des crémations déposées précédemment.

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Crustumerium was located about 14 km north of ancient Rome up the Tiber valley, at the boundary of the Latin territory with the lands of the Etruscans, Faliscans-Capenates and Sabines. From 850 BC to its incorporation into the Roman state around 500 BC, it grew into a considerable settlement extending over a tufa plateau of 60 hectares. Of the 400 tombs legally excavated at Crustumerium until 2013, only 23 can be assigned to the Iron Age settlement. In spite of their low number, the archaeological record is sufficient to allow a discussion of the distribution, the main architectural features, the funerary rituals and the grave goods of the earliest tombs. The features of the Early Iron Age tombs will be examined, including their apparent low number and the way they are distributed in relation to the subsequent topographical development of the cemeteries, and the evolution of rituals and funerary architecture during the subsequent Orientalizing period.

Crustumerium’s Monte Del Bufalo cemetery features Early Iron Age and Orientalising fossa and Archaic chamber tombs. While the first usually had a relatively elaborate set of grave gifts, the latter contain only few grave gifts. The funerary architecture and associated ritual customs provide insight in the social transformation of the communities around Rome between the late Orientalising and Archaic period.