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HOME Forword Selected sources |
HOUSES OF THE DEAD – CHESTS, URNS AND SARCOPHAGI ASHES TO ASHES The cremated remains of the dead were housed in urns of many varieties and shapes. Urns also came in a range of materials; burnt clay, metal, glass and stone. The most common type of urn in the Roman era was a simple vessel of fired clay with a lid, called an olla. This cinerary chest is a typical late Etruscan chest of burnt clay, decorated with a frontal relief. These Etruscan chests, which were often mass produced using moulds, were put into niches in the walls of long, rock-hewn passages. The niches were closed with large tiles.
Photo: Lill-Ann Chepstow-Lusty © Museum of Cultural History Glass urns were quite costly and came in several varieties. The glass urn is a type that was common in the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire. Another type of cremation urn used by Rome’s neighbours was the amphora. The vast necropolises of Carthage show that cremation burials in amphorae have a tradition dating back to around 800 BC. This is an example from Sousse in Tunisia. These small amphorae were not used as storage vessels, but were specifically made for use as funerary urns.
Photo: © Museum of Cultural History In Alexandria, urns were placed in vast catacomb-like underground necropolises. A large number of urns made of Egyptian alabaster and granite have been found in Rome, one of many testimonies to the lively trade between Egypt and Italy. These imported urns must have been luxury goods, which only wealthy Romans could afford. This urn was found in the Roman city of Tusculum, south-east of Rome (today’s Frascati).
Photo: © Museum of Cultural History
Photo: © Museum of Cultural History URNS AND CHESTS FOR THE ROMAN MIDDLE CLASS AND SOLDIERS Shortly before the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 BC-14 AD), marble cinerary chests with relief became popular with the Roman middle class, and stayed in fashion for the next 200 years. From the inscriptions commemorating the deceased, we see that most of the dead were freeborn, some were members of the aristocracy and others military men. But some were also freedmen, or privileged slaves of important families who had the money and desire for a fashionable burial. In the second century AD, as many as half of all the customers for these chests were soldiers. Although more and more Romans came to favour inhumation, cremation remained usual in the military camps in the provinces until the 3rd century. Cremation was the obvious choice when a soldier’s remains had to be transported home for burial.
Photo: © The National Museum of Art These date from the second half of the 1st century to the beginning of the 2nd century AD, the heyday of this fashion. These rectangular marble chests usually bear decorative reliefs and inscriptions giving the name of the deceased, the length of their life-spans, and the names of relatives who ordered the urn. The formulation “dis manibus” (abr. Dis man or D.M.) means “to the spirits of the dead” and was originally a votive invocation to the spirits of the deceased. It is found on almost all Roman inscriptions, but also on Christian and Jewish inscriptions, which reveals its formalised character.
Photo: © The National Museum of Art FROM CREMATION TO INHUMATION Although inhumation was not unknown, it was rarely practiced in Rome until the early 2nd century AD when inhumation suddenly gained enormous popularity. The cause of this change is still a great mystery, although many explanations have been put forward. Some are practical – for example, that wood for the pyres had become more difficult to obtain. Others are cultural, and point to the growing enthusiasm for Greek culture which preferred inhumation. Inhumation practices varied according to the financial means of the deceased’s family. The most expensive alternative, affordable only to the very rich, was burial in a decorated marble sarcophagus. ROMAN MARBLE SARCOPHAGI Most marble sarcophagi are shaped like a chest. The lid is either flat, or in the shape of a gabled roof. Many sarcophagi have lids where the deceased is pictured reclining on a mattress (Astrup). There were also oval sarcophagi decorated with lion heads. They imitate tubs, troughs and wine presses with lion head spouts.
Photo: Lill-Ann Chepstow-Lusty © Museum of Cultural History MYTHS AND MOTIFS Many motifs found on sarcophagi have no obvious connection to death. Customers chose scenes or ornamentation according to their personal taste, and only a very few chose motifs that dealt directly with the Underworld or the Afterlife.
Photo: © The National Museum of Art Mythological battle or hunting scenes were popular motifs. Scenes of ecstasy and abandon set in a mythical world are also common. The sarcophagus shows such an orgy. We see Amor and Psyche kissing surrounded by a procession of cupids. Depictions from earthly pursuits are also common. A child’s sarcophagus pictures a chariot race, a very popular motif, particularly on children’s coffins, probably illustrating funerary games. The four chariots may have been associated with the four seasons of the year. Perhaps the scene is an allegory; life is a hazardous race, but one that can end in victory.
Photo: Lill-Ann Chepstow-Lusty © Museum of Cultural History DIONYSOS– GOD OF ECSTASY The god most frequently represented on Roman sarcophagus reliefs is Dionysus, god of wine, ecstasy, feasting and the theatre. He also represented the hope of a bright Afterlife, which explains why he so often appears on sarcophagi. His cortege of nymphs (menads) and satyrs are usually displayed dancing, drinking and making music, symbolised everlasting joy and sexual abandon. The myth of Ariadne and Dionysus is another popular theme. Dionysus discovered the Cretan princess sleeping on the island of Naxos, and took her as his wife. The story of Ariadne’s awakening from a deep sleep to a new divine existence with Dionysus was probably seen as a metaphor for salvation and life after death. Dionysus is often depicted as drunk with a drinking vessel in his hand, descending from his chariot supported by one of his followers. Other reliefs show him uncovering the sleeping Ariadne.
Photo: Lill-Ann Chepstow-Lusty © The Museum of Cultural History On the fragment Ariadne sleeps, holding a miniature couple; Amor and a girl with butterfly wings. The girl is Psyche, who was carried to heaven in her sleep by her lover, Amor. A third scene from the Dionysian cycle is his wedding to Ariadne, (NG.S.00464). The fragment depicts Dionysus’ mother, Semele, reclining in a chariot besides an Eros holding a wedding torch. CENTRES OF PRODUCTION There were several important production centres for marble sarcophagi in the Mediterranean world. There was, of course, Rome itself, which alone accounts for about 6000 of the sarcophagi known to us today. Another centre was Dokimeion, a town in Asia Minor, (about 500 known sarcophagi) and Attica, in the region of Athens (about 1500 known sarcophagi). There was also an extensive marked in semi-finished sarcophagi, which were completed at their place of destination. Elsewhere, less elaborate sarcophagi were produced, usually catering for a local market and often imitating the products of the main artistic centres.
Photo: © The National Museum of Art Greek workshops are represented by one fragment in our exhibition. The piece is clearly of Attic origin. It depicts a scene from the Battle of Troy. Still visible are the three boat sterns and Greek warriors fighting the Trojans on the beach at Troy.
Photo: © The National Museum of Art The piece sawn from the front side of a sarcophagus. It is made of marble from Attica, but could have been made by craftsmen from Crete or Asian Minor. The sarcophagus was decorated with a head of Medusa. The cupid is a product of a workshop from Asia Minor. Similar cupids can be found on garland sarcophagi from Ephesos on the west coast of Turkey.
Photo: Lill-Ann Chepstow-Lusty © The Museum of Cultural History The sarcophagus is an example from Palestine, probably from Caesarea. The eagle and garland imitate motifs used by the craftsmen of Attica. |
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