Death, disposal and the destitute: The burial of the urban poor in Italy in the late Republic and early Empire Emma-Jayne Graham Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Archaeology University of Sheffield December 2004 IMAGING SERVICES NORTH Boston Spa, Wetherby West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQ www.bl.uk The following have been excluded from this digital copy at the request of the university: Fig 12 on page 24 Fig 16 on page 61 Fig 24 on page 162 Fig 25 on page 163 Fig 26 on page 164 Fig 28 on page 168 Fig 30on page 170 Fig 31 on page 173 Abstract Recent studies of Roman funerary practices have demonstrated that these activities were a vital component of urban social and religious processes. These investigations have, however, largely privileged the importance of these activities to the upper levels of society. Attempts to examine the responses of the lower classes to death, and its consequent demands for disposal and commemoration, have focused on the activities of freedmen and slaves anxious to establish or maintain their social position. The free poor, living on the edge of subsistence, are often disregarded and believed to have been unceremoniously discarded within anonymous mass graves (puticuli) such as those discovered at Rome by Lanciani in the late nineteenth century. This thesis re-examines the archaeological and historical evidence for the funerary practices of the urban poor in Italy within their appropriate social, legal and religious context. The thesis attempts to demonstrate that the desire for commemoration and the need to provide legitimate burial were strong at all social levels and linked to several factors common to all social strata. Existing definitions of the poor are revealed to be inadequate and a more precise definition, formulated on the basis of economic resources, is proposed. The evidence for mass graves at Rome and the previously unquestioned conclusions of Lanciani are critically re-examined and shown to be both unreliable and heavily dependent on ambiguous textual references. Evidence for alternative forms of burial and memorialising activities in the cemeteries of Italy is examined and discussed. It is concluded that the poor did not, under normal circumstances, make use of mass graves. They responded to the same social, religious, legal and practical demands imposed by death as the rest of the urban community. This is reflected in both grave typology and the ways in which they were commemorated by living relatives. The physical manifestations of these practices are notably more modest than those of the elite but, significantly, the desire to properly bury and remember the dead was not absent. Contents Acknowledgements, List of figures.......... List of tables........... Introduction................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: Memory and Commemoration.............................. 8 Chapter 2: Funerals and Burial Practice.................................. 52 Chapter 3: The Urban Poor....................................................... 93 Chapter 4: The Puticuli............................................................. 120 Chapter 5: Identifying Lower Class Burial Practices in Italy, 160 Chapter 6; Conclusion............................................................... 202 210 Bibliography................................................................................. t Acknowledgements This PhD could not have been conducted without the generous financial support of the University of Sheffield, particularly in the form of a full fee bursary and the Riley Bursary for Roman Archaeology. In addition, a research travel grant, awarded by the Petrie Watson Exhibitions at the University of Sheffield, made it possible for me to travel to Rome in September 2003 in order to conduct essential research and to visit several of the sites central to the project. I could not have completed the research without the assistance and support of several other individuals and institutions. Firstly, I wish to express my extreme gratitude to Maureen Carroll who acted as supervisor for the duration of the research and who provided a constant source of support, assistance, encouragement and inspiration. She also very kindly allowed me to read sections of the manuscript of her forthcoming publication, spent a considerable amount of her own time helping me to understand several papers written in German, and provided me with an opportunity to spend time in Pompeii! Without her considerable interest in the project, and knowledge of the subject as a whole, the research would not have gone as smoothly as it did. Thank you. I also wish to thank my advisor Andrew Chamberlain who, although joining the process when it was already part way through, expressed great interest in the research and was always willing to read anything with which he was presented. His comments, particularly on the subject of mass graves, have greatly enhanced the thesis. Thanks must also go to other members of staff in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield for their support, including Peter Day (particularly for his positive comments on my Research Seminar presentation), John Barrett (for patiently putting up with my presence in his office), and Dawn Hadley, who regularly passed funding opportunities and administrative work my way. I would also like to thank Professor John Drinkwater for expressing an interest in the research during its early stages and for generously taking me to Nottingham in order to discuss aspects of it ii with one of his own research students. Kathryn Goldsack in the Graduate School office and Anne Callinswood in the Department office were always available to help out with administrative questions. In order to gain access to relevant Italian publications the research was at times heavily reliant on the Inter Library Loan system and I wish to thank the staff of the Main Library for their assistance with this. Thanks must also be extended to Charlotte Tupman at the University of Southampton who very kindly allowed me to read her MA Dissertation on the subject of the columbaria. Thanks must also go to all of my friends who have provided a continuous source of emotional and intellectual encouragement over the last few years. In particular, I wish to thank Nat Husk for all her support and for agreeing to visit every ancient cemetery in Rome and wait whilst I took photos of every single tomb; Richard Queripel for assisting with some early French translations and for many trips to the cinema; and Claire Richardson for at least pretending to be interested when we were out walking and climbing and for reading my rather lengthy emails. I also wish to thank Cat Howarth, Sally Smith and Eileen Ko for many productive discussions over several glasses of orange juice, cups of tea and slices of pizza, and for patiently explaining aspects of archaeological theory to me! All three have been a constant source of support and, despite her strong anti-Roman views, Cat was always willing to proof read papers, and, at least at times, appear genuinely interested. Thanks to you all. Finally, I must express my extreme gratitude to my family who have been unwavering in their support during my time in Sheffield. I can not thank you enough. m List of Figures 1 Interior of cell b of the Columbaria Gemelli in the Porta Romana necropolis, Ostia (photo author). 2 Exedra tomb, Street of the Tombs, Pompeii (photo author). 3 Family portrait busts on the Via Appia which would have originally been mounted on the façade of a tomb structure (photo author). 4 (a). Tomb of the Rabirii on the Via Appia; (b). Anonymous tomb with portrait busts, Via Appia (photos author). 5 The pyramid tomb of Gaius Cestius, first century BC (photo author). 6 (a). Mausoleum of Augustus (first century BC) in the Campus Martius, and two tombs on the Via Appia apparently inspired by its circular design: (b). ‘Casai Rotondo’; (c). Tomb of Caecilia Metella (photos author). 7 The Vatican necropolis, (a). House-tomb facades; (b), Interior of Tomb I with niches and an arcosolia. (Zander, 2003 figs. 29 and 109). 8 House tombs at Isola Sacra (second century a d ) (photo author). 9 First century a d stelae, (a) Tombstone of Q. Lartius, a member of the Praetorian Guard; (photo author) (b). Tombstone of Publius Sulpicius Peregrinus. (Friggeri, 2003 p. 96). 10 Stele with portrait busts, Via Triumphalis (Steinby, 1987 fig. 12b). 11 Funerary sculpture from the tomb of a herald ipraeco) and assignor of seats (dissignator), Rome. (Friggeri, 2003 p. 59). 12 Occupation reliefs from the necropolis of Isola Sacra, second century a d . (a). Tomb 29, relief depicting a blacksmith at work; (b). Relief depicting an aquatarius (water-seller). (Baldassarre et ai, 1996 figs. 57b and 58). 13 The panarium tomb of Marcus Virgileius Eurysaces, late first century BC. (Friggeri, 2003 p. 63). 14 Relief from the Haterii monument depicting a body lying-in-state. (Toynbee, 1971: fig. 9). 15 Relief from Amitemum depicting a funerary procession. (Toynbee, 1971 fig. 11). 16 Reconstruction of the interior of Tomb 16 at Isola Sacra depicting niches for cremation and arcosoli for inhumation. (Baldassarre et al, 1996 fig. 67). iv 17 Niches painted with flowers in Tomb 77, Isola Sacra (photo author). 18 Biclinium outside Tomb 15, Isola Sacra (photo author). 19 The Campus Esquilinus between the Viminal and Esquiline gates (modified from Bodel, 1994 fig. 1). 20 Schematic section drawn by Lanciani showing the archaeological strata of the Esquiline burial ground (after Bodel, 1994, fig. 2). 21 Map of the Esquiline showing the area believed to contain the Gardens of Maecenas (after Purcell, 1996 fig. 46). 22 Section of the Forma Urbis Romae showing part of the Esquiline. 1. the puticuli. 2. the ditch of the Servian agger filled with corpses (after Lanciani, 1893 - 1901). 23 Section of the map accompanying Lanciani’s first publication on the puticuli showing the location of the pits and their adjoining walls (Lanciani, 1874). 24 Plan of Isola Sacra necropolis, Portus (after Baldassarre et al., 1996).