Roman Amisos. A study on graves and grave findings

2015

Ancient Liburnia, stretching along the Eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, has always been a sea-faring region, and its people - the Liburni - have always been regarded as notorious pirates and sea-people. As such, the region has been visited by foreigners from both the West and the East. Greeks sailed across the Adriatic since the 6th century BCE, but travellers from the Greek mainland visited the region even in the more remote past, judging by finds of the Mycenaean pottery at several Adriatic sites. In this contribution the authors shall look into the foreigners of the Eastern origins who came to Roman Liburnia and died there during the first three centuries CE, and investigate the ways they were buried in this land so far from their homelands. Due to exact written records left at their epitaphs - mostly belonging to soldiers of legions and auxiliary units, but to some seamen and traders, as well - the authors shall analyse distribution of their homelands and investigate whether there were some peculiarities with regard to their burial customs. In addition to these foreigners of unambiguous Eastern origins, the authors shall also take into consideration other persons who might have also been Easterners, either because of the particular religious affiliations (such as, e. g., an archigallus buried in Iader), anthroponymy, use of the Greek language and/or writing, and similar. This analysis shall also look into the specific grave goods that strongly indicate Eastern origins of those buried within these graves, and investigate whether there were some particular burial customs and/or tomb types that would indicate the same. Furthermore, the authors shall also take into consideration the influences which originated form the western territories of Roman state and compare them to the eastern ones.

The Hellenistic and Roman city of Hierapolis in Phrygia, South-Western Asia Minor, boasts one of the largest necropoleis known from the Roman world. While the grave monuments have seen long-lasting interest, few funerary contexts have been subject to excavation and publication. The present study analyses the artefact finds from four tombs, investigating the context of grave gifts and funerary practices with focus on the Roman imperial period. It considers to what extent the finds influence and reflect varying identities of Hierapolitan individuals over time. Combined, the tombs use cover more than 1500 years, paralleling the life-span of the city itself. Although the material is far too small to give a conclusive view of funerary assem-blages in Hierapolis, the attempted close study and contextual integration of the objects does yield some results with implications for further studies of funerary contexts on the site and in the wider region. The use of standard grave goods items, such as unguentaria, lamps and coins, is found to peak in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Clay unguentaria were used alongside glass ones more than a century longer than what is usually seen outside of Asia Minor, and this period saw the development of new forms, partially resembling Hellenistic types. Some burials did not include any grave gifts, and none were extraordinarily rich, pointing towards a standardised, minimalistic set of funerary objects. Evidence of Pagan, Jewish and Christian burials is found not to be visible in the grave gifts of the Roman period. Also aspects of social status, and local or ethnic identity are only scarcely attested. Individual and group identities seem to be manifest in tomb monuments and inscriptions, rather than in objects involved in funerary rites. The consequence of this is a material that is largely "Roman".

The Basilica of St. Sophia During the Transition from Paganism to Christianity, 2018

For a long time burial practices of Late Antiquity, at least in the scientific literature dealing with the territory of the province of Dalmatia, have been regarded as monotonous and quite simple. Partially it is a reflection of actual conditions, but partially it is a result of insufficient archaeological research and/or publications. This paper, therefore, aims to present the types of tombs and burial places in the Roman province of Dalmatia through three case study areas (Liburnia, central hinterland and Salona).

Ephemeris Napocensis, 2022

The Roman cemetery at Apulum-Dealul Furcilor is one of the well-known and researched Roman sites of this kind from Dacia. Archaeological excavations started in the 19th century and are continuing today. During the Romanian communist regime, the discovered graves and their inventory were published in archaeological reports. Unfortunately, the reports do not include a detailed description of the finds. Additional papers focused on the artefacts and their functionality within the graves were never written. For these reasons, the excavations from this period need reconsideration. Most of the discoveries made in 1958 were stored inside the deposit of The Archaeology and Art History Institute in Cluj-Napoca and were the main subject of my unpublished master’s thesis entitled Identități individuale și colective în necropola romană de la Apulum-Dealul Furcilor. Studiu de caz – descoperirile din anul 1958, “Babeș-Bolyai” University, Cluj. This article resumes the study made in the thesis, provides a detailed catalogue of the archaeological finds and an analysis of the osteological remains found in the deposit at Cluj-Napoca.

In this paper are analysed the two Roman necropolises of Potaissa (modern day Turda, Cluj County, Romania) in order to establish a general overview of the burial spaces. Even if the Roman graves are found here beginning with the 19 th century, there is no study focused strictly on the issues regarding the burialscapes of the funerary areas. This article synthetize the current state of things and outlines some important aspects about the physical boundaries and the chronology of the abovementioned necropolises. By analysing all the grave clusters found beginning with 1894 until 2014 the author tried to illustrate the particularities and the general character of Potaissa's burial places as much as the state of information allowed.

ore 16-18: interventi introduttivi presiede la Sessione Luan PËRZHITA -B. Muka, Problemi dell'archeologia della morte in Albania -G. Lepore, Le ragioni di un Congresso discussione preliminare Coffee break ore 18: sessione poster -B. Toçi, Il riuso degli spolia nei contesti funerari di Durrazzo durante il periodo romano imperiale -A. Anastasi, The Acropolis of Epidamnos / Dyrrachium and the transformations of a religious area during the centuries -E. Hobdari, J. Buzo, La necropoli d'Amantia -M. Heinzelmann, B. Muka, A. Schroeder, Hellenistic necropoleis of the Illyrian settlement at Dimal: topography, chronology and funerary practices -K. Çipa, M. Meshini, U. Tota, From clandestine excavations to the documentation of a Cemetery: the case of the Cemetery and the Tumulus of Himara -N. Aleotti, F. Pizzimenti, Le necropoli ellenistiche e romane di Butrinto: stato delle ricerche e nuove considerazioni sui materiali rinvenuti da L.M.Ugolini negli anni '20 del '900 -V. Kapopoulos, I. Papalexis, V. Papadopoulou, A. Vasios, The western Necropolis of Ambracia: significance and enhancement -Th. Kyrkou, Eternal remain : gold funerary offerings from the southwest Cemetery of Ambracia -L. Vasileiou, Looking after dead children in Hellenistic Molossia -Y. Faklari, Geographic names on grave stelae from Nicopolis -F. Meo, Al di là del mare: i contesti funerari della Messapia cena lunedì 16 dicembre 4 -ore 9-11: l'Illiria presiede la Sessione Arthur MULLER -St. Verger, Les necropoles d'Apollonia et les paysages funéraires hellénistiques, entre Orient et Occident -F. Bièvre-Perrin, Les vases à figures rouges d'Apollonia d'Illyrie: entre imitations des modèles italiotes et inovation -N. Ceka, O. Ceka, A gate to eternity: the naiskos-stelai of Apollonia -E. Shehi, B. Shkodra, M. Koçi, Retrospect in urban necropoleis of Epidamne-Dyrrachion: topography, chronology and funerary rituals -L. Calio', Tombe "eccellenti" e infrastrutture urbane. Problemi di topografia funeraria -S. Veseli, Reuse of prehistoric Tumuli during Roman period in Albania: previleged burials? Coffee break -ore 11.15-12: l'Illiria presiede la Sessione Shpresa GJONGECAJ -M. Koçollari, La tomba monumentale di Persqop: nuovi dati per la definizione del ruolo dell'insediamento nell'età ellenistica -E. Kalaja-Hajdari, Recent epigraphic findings from Kosovo -ore 12-13: l'Epiro -R. Perna, Y. Marano, Insediamento e modelli funerari della valle del Drino -Dh. Çondi, Le tombe monumentali nella valle di Drino: Antigone, Jorgucat, Matohasanaj pausa pranzo: Catering (Accademia delle Scienze -Akademia e Shkencave) -ore 15-17: l'Epiro presiede la Sessione Maria STAMATOPOULOU -O. Gilkes, Monumental burial and commemoration in Roman Butrint -G. Lepore. Phoinike: una necropoli tra "ellenismo" e "romanizzazione" -Sh. Gjongecaj, Le monete nelle tombe -A. Gamberini, Vasi per i vivi, vasi per i morti -B. Muka, Mors immatura: contestualizzare la morte e le sepolture dei bambini a Phoinike -L. Usai, Il rito della cremazione a Phoinike Coffee break martedì 17 dicembre 5 -ore 17.15-19: l'Epiro presiede la Sessione Roberto PERNA -G. Pliakou, K. Lazari, A. Tzortzatou, V. Lamprou, Burial practices in Thesprotia during the Hellenistic and Roman Period -I. Katsadima, The grave stelai of Cassopaia revisited (NW Greece) -V. N. Papadopoulou, A. Aggeli, Th. Kontogianni, V. Kapopoulos, The western Necropolis of Ambracia: the new finds -M. Stamatopoulou, Epirotes and Illyrians in Demetrias -V. Antoniadis, Nicopolitan graves and tombstones across the Empire and the search for an elusive colony Cena -ore 9 -13: Magna Grecia e Sicilia presiede la Sessione Jean-Luc LAMBOLEY -S. De Caro, A. Serritella, Le Necropoli di età ellenistica dalla valle del Sarno nel quadro del mondo campano -C. De Mitri, Echi dall'altra sponda. Attestazioni funerarie non omologate nel Salento ellenistico (fine IV-II sec. a.C.) -V. Caminneci, Per un confronto: la Sicilia di età ellenistica -A. Pontrandolfo, M. Scafuro, Per un confronto: la Campania in età ellenistica -M. L. Rizzo, Poseidonia: la necropoli meridionale della Licinella -P. Munzi, C. Pouzadoux, M. Leone, G. Sachau, A. Santoriello, G. Correale, L. Fornaciari, I.M. Muntoni, S. Patete, V. Soldani, Archeologia della morte in Daunia: nuovi dati dalle necropoli di Arpi tra topografia, tipologia e pratiche funerarie -E. Giorgi, Le necropoli di Suasa: la cultura funeraria di un centro romano dell'ager Gallicus discussione P. Cabanes, V. Nizzo Conclusions sur l'Archéologie de la mort en Illyrie et Épire / Conclusioni su l'archeologia della morte in Illiria e Epiro mercoledì 18 dicembre 6 B. Toçi: Il riuso degli spolia nei contesti funerari di Durrazzo durante il periodo romano imperiale Agenzia del Servicio Archeologico, Ministero della Cultura

Elif Özer (ed.), Anadolu’da Hellenistik ve Roma Dönemlerinde Ölü Gömme Adetleri Uluslararasi Sempozyumu Bildiri Kitabi/The Book of International Symposium on Burial Customs in Anatolia During the Hellenistic and Roman Periods (Aizanoi 23 -26 July 2018), Ankara, pp. 3-31, 2019

The purpose of this paper is to examine a group of graves, dating to the Hellenistic period, particularly interesting for their location and the presence of burials marked by funerary monuments on the surface. Their typology and the wealth of the grave goods, that include gold ornaments and terracotta figurines, has no comparisons among the coeval Iasian tombs. The analysis of these findings, well characterized from a formal and ritual point of view, aims to include them in the local thematic framework and specify their relationships and chronology. İasos’un ölü kentlerinin nerede bulunduğu, içinde hangi eserlerin inşa edildiği, hangi gömme adetinin ve törenlerinin belgelendirildiğine dair bilgilerimiz geniş olmakla birlikte tam sayılamaz. Örneğin ’60 yılların sonlarında eski tarihi kentten uzak olmayan bir alanda ortaya çıkarılan “Prehistorik ölü kenti” konusu bu bağlamda oldukça anlamlıdır. M.Ö. 3 bin yılında başlayan kasvetli kullanımı, Roma ve Hellenistik dönemlerinde de saptanmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, konumu ve mezarlar anıtlı gömmenin olması bakımından oldukça ilgi çeken Hellenistik döneme ait bir grup mezar analize etmektir. Nitekim bu mezarların tipolojisi ve altın süslemeleri, terakotadan yapılmış küçük heykeller gibi ortaya çıkarılan eşyaların zenginliği, aynı döneme ait diğer yerel mezarlarda rastlanmamaktadır. Görünüş ve tören bakımından net özellikler taşıyan bu bulguların analizi, yerel tematik çerçeve içeresinde açıklamayı ve planimetrik/fotoğraf belgelendirmesi yetersiz olmasına rağmen olabildiğince en doğru şekilde aralarındaki ilişkileri ile kronolojisini belirtmeyi amaçlamaktadır.