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A mass grave from the catacomb of Saints Peter and Marcellinus in Rome, second-third century AD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Philippe Blanchard ,
Dominique Castex ,
Michaël Coquerelle ,
Raffaella Giuliani  and
Monica Ricciardi
Philippe Blanchard
Affiliation:
INRAP CIF, Tours, UMR 6173 Laboratoire Archéologie et Territoires/CITERES, France (Email: philippe.blanchard@inrap.fr)
Dominique Castex
Affiliation:
UMR 5199 PACEA Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Populations du Passé, Université Bordeaux 1, Talence, France
Michaël Coquerelle
Affiliation:
UMR 5199 PACEA Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Populations du Passé, Université Bordeaux 1, Talence, France
Raffaella Giuliani
Affiliation:
Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra, Rome, Italy
Monica Ricciardi
Affiliation:
Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra, Rome, Italy
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Extract

Investigations in a catacomb revealed an early mass grave, in which the bodies were bound tightly with plaster and textile in a type of mummification. Over 100 individuals, mostly young adults, including women, were stacked in rows apparently following a communal fatal incident, perhaps an epidemic. The presence of traces of gold, silver and probably amber with many of the bodies, and their burial in an imperial property suggests a group of some status being interred in the early years of the catacomb, at the end of the second century AD or beginning of the third.

Keywords

Romecatacombslate Antiqueplague
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 314 , 1 December 2007 , pp. 989 - 998
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2007

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