Funerary Archaeology and Changing Identities: Community Practices in Roman-Period Sardinia Mauro Puddu Archaeopress Roman Archaeology 55 Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Summertown Pavilion 18-24 Middle Way Summertown Oxford OX2 7LG www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978-1-78969-000-2 ISBN 978-1-78969-001-9 (e-Pdf) © Mauro Puddu and Archaeopress 2019 Front cover design: Robert Barišić All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, elec- tronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. Printed in England by Oxuniprint, Oxford This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com To Gianni Albai, an inspirational man Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................................................ iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................................. vi 1. ROMAN-PERIOD SARDINIA: A SEMIOTIC THEORY OF IDENTITY ...............................................................................1 1.1 Archaeology and identity: a theory of signs .................................................................................................................1 1.1.1. Scope and structure of the book ..........................................................................................................................1 1.1.2. Identity and archaeology: an inevitable relationship ......................................................................................2 1.1.3. Today’s critique of identity approaches .............................................................................................................4 1.1.4. Semiotic definitions of identity and identities of semiotics............................................................................4 A. Remotti’s identity between Peirce and Saussure ..............................................................................................4 B. Exemplifying Peirce’s semiotics: Umberto Eco and Karl Marx .......................................................................6 C. Semiotics and archaeology: only a partial commitment .................................................................................7 1.1.5. Identification and identity: the archaeological context as an interpretant .................................................9 1.1.6. Practice, agency, structure: signs of a semiotic continuum in identity negotiation .................................10 1.1.7. A semiotic definition of identity ......................................................................................................................12 1.2. Romanization and Romanizzazione of Sardinia today: a question of identity .......................................................13 1.2.1. Paradigm switches within Roman archaeology in the last century .............................................................13 1.2.2. Romanization’s origins and current debate in Britain ...................................................................................13 1.2.3. Romanizzazione in Italian academia ....................................................................................................................15 1.2.4. Sardinia within Romanizzazione ..........................................................................................................................16 1.2.5. An archaeological agenda on identity: continuity versus structural space .................................................18 1.3. Archaeology of funerary practice in the Roman world ...........................................................................................18 1.3.1. Funerary archaeology theory and burial studies: a state-of-the-art ...........................................................18 1.3.2. Theories of funerary archaeology......................................................................................................................19 1.3.3. Funerary studies within Roman archaeology ..................................................................................................21 1.3.4. Tradition of funerary archaeology in Roman-period Sardinia .....................................................................22 1.3.5. Communities, burials, and rhizomatic identities: a semiotic theory beyond the textual metaphor ......23 1.4. Theory and data: a practical guide to the emergence of different identity patterns .......................................24 2. BURIALS OF SARDINIA: METHODOLOGY OF DATA COLLECTION .............................................................................26 2.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................26 2.1.1. Sardinia and Roman archaeology: a personal account ...................................................................................26 2.1.2. Sardinia in written sources .................................................................................................................................27 2.2. Methodology of data collection ...................................................................................................................................28 2.2.1. Geo-morphology of Sardinia...............................................................................................................................28 2.2.2. Sardinian funerary sites: a survey .....................................................................................................................29 2.2.3. Selection of a region: criteria and limitations .................................................................................................31 2.2.4 Data typology and methodology of collection ..................................................................................................33 2.3. The case studies: history of excavations and topographical account ...................................................................36 2.3.1. The necropolis of Sulci, Sant’Antioco ................................................................................................................38 2.3.2. The necropolis of Sa Mitza Salida, Masullas .......................................................................................................38 2.3.3. The necropolises of Cagliari ................................................................................................................................38 2.3.4. The necropolis of Sa Mitza de Siddi, Ortacesus ..................................................................................................43 2.3.5. The necropolis of Santa Lucia, Gesico ...............................................................................................................43 2.3.6. The necropolis of Bidd’e Cresia, Sanluri ...........................................................................................................43 3. FUNERARY PRACTICE AND THE URBAN COMMUNITIES OF SULCI ..........................................................................46 3.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................46 3.1.1. Sulci during the Punic and Roman periods ......................................................................................................46 3.1.2. Archaeological background ................................................................................................................................46 3.1.3. Before the municipium: the necropolis in the Punic-phase ............................................................................47 3.2. The archaeological evidence from the Roman-period ............................................................................................48 i 3.2.1. The data sources: strengths and limitations ....................................................................................................48 3.2.2. Burials between the Punic and Roman period: bridging neat categorizations ..........................................49 3.2.3. The Roman period Necropolina............................................................................................................................49 3.2.4. The cremation burials ..........................................................................................................................................52 3.2.5. Extra-burial contexts: visibility as practice .....................................................................................................55 3.2.6. The inhumation burials .......................................................................................................................................58 3.2.7. Diachronic history of the Necropolina ..............................................................................................................62 3.3. Practice and grave goods at Sulci: a synthesis ..........................................................................................................65