6533b7d8fe1ef96bd126ab1b

RESEARCH PRODUCT

The cremation structures of the Roman Empire: anthracological data versus historical sources

Carine Cenzon-salvayreAline Durand

subject

Roman Empire[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistorywritten sourcessources iconographiquescremationanthracologyEmpire romainanthraoclogieiconographysources écrites[SHS.HIST]Humanities and Social Sciences/History

description

ISSN: : 0210-3729; International audience; During the excavation of the Roman necropolis site Richeaume (Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence, France), cremation primary structures have been identified. A specific protocol consisting in collecting the entire sediment for sampling charred funeral remains on a grid of 20 to 40 cm, was systematically experimented and put into practice. The first anthracological results offer a reading of both qualitative and quantitative spatial residues of the cremation (including the discovery of the ignition lock, and technical aspects revealing a specific choice adapted to the practice of cremation). This reading led to interpret anthracological results in a technical and social prospect. These results led also to a systematic re-reading of written Roman sources, collecting exhaustive historical documents and comparing them to previous and new data. The terms used by ancient writers to describe the structures studied by anthracologists, far from being general, relate to facts and precise gestures

https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01071451/file/Cenzon-Salvayre_et_Durand_Valencia_Sagetum_Cremation.pdf