Beyond the Grave. Excavating the Dead in the Late Roman Provinces

Pearce, John

doi:10.1163/22134522-12340016

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…These texts imply that, while many plant exudates were employed in medicinal preparations or perfumery (Gunther, 1959: 5e92;Hort, 1980: 247e321), a more limited palette was deemed appropriate for the ritual sphere. Definitive evidence for this extensive use of resins has, however, rarely been recovered from the archaeological record (Pearce, 2013).…”

Section: The Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Choicest unguents’: molecular evidence for the use of resinous plant exudates in late Roman mortuary rites in Britain

Brettell¹,

Schotsmans²,

Rogers³

et al. 2015

Journal of Archaeological Science

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YesResinous substances were highly prized in the ancient world for use in ritual contexts. Details gleaned\ud from classical literature indicate that they played a significant role in Roman mortuary rites, in treatment\ud of the body and as offerings at the tomb. Outside of Egypt, however, where research has shown that a\ud range of plant exudates were applied as part of the mummification process, resins have rarely been\ud identified in the burial record. This is despite considerable speculation regarding their use across the\ud Roman Empire.\ud Focusing on one region, we investigated organic residues from forty-nine late Roman inhumations\ud from Britain. Using gas chromatographyemass spectrometry and the well-attested biomarker approach,\ud terpenic compounds were characterized in fourteen of the burials analysed. These results provided direct\ud chemical evidence for the presence of exudates from three different plant families: coniferous Pinaceae\ud resins, Mediterranean Pistacia spp. resins (mastic/terebinth) and exotic Boswellia spp. gum-resins\ud (frankincense/olibanum) from southern Arabia or beyond. The individuals accorded this rite had all\ud been interred with a package of procedures more elaborate than the norm.\ud These findings illuminate the multiplicity of roles played by resinous substances in Roman mortuary\ud practices in acting to disguise the odour of decomposition, aiding temporary soft-tissue preservation and\ud signifying the social status of the deceased. Nevertheless, it was their ritual function in facilitating the\ud transition to the next world that necessitated transportation to the most remote outpost of the late\ud Roman Empire, Britain.R.C.B is supported by a PhD studentship from the Art and Humanities Research Council (43019R00209)

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Section: The Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For centuries there has been speculation about the use of resinous substances in Roman mortuary contexts (Chioffi, 1998;Pearce, 2013). This has been fuelled by the brief insights provided by classical authors (Hope, 2009: 65e85) and unsubstantiated reports of scented substances in elaborate cremation and inhumation burials (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Choicest unguents’: molecular evidence for the use of resinous plant exudates in late Roman mortuary rites in Britain

Brettell¹,

Schotsmans²,

Rogers³

et al. 2015

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Urban–rural differences in Roman Dorset, England: A bioarchaeological perspective on Roman settlements

Redfern

DeWitte²,

Pearce³

et al. 2015

American J Phys Anthropol

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In the Roman period, urban and rural ways of living were differentiated philosophically and legally, and this is the first regional study of these contrasting life-ways. Focusing on frailty and mortality risk, we investigated how these differed by age, sex, and status, using coffin type as a proxy for social status. We employed skeletal data from 344 individuals: 150 rural and 194 urban (1st-5th centuries A.D.) from Dorset, England. Frailty and mortality risk were examined using indicators of stress (cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, nonspecific periostitis, and enamel hypoplastic defects), specific metabolic and infectious diseases (rickets, scurvy, and tuberculosis), and dental health (carious lesions and calculus). These variables were studied using Chi-square, Siler model of mortality, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and the Gompertz model of adult mortality. Our study found that overall, mortality risk and survivorship did not differ between cemetery types but when the data were examined by age, mortality risk was only significantly higher for urban subadults. Demographic differences were found, with urban cemeteries having more 0-10 and >35 year olds, and for health, urban cemeteries had significantly higher frequencies of enamel hypoplastic defects, carious lesions, and rickets. Interestingly, no significant difference in status was observed between rural and urban cemeteries. The most significant finding was the influence of the skeletal and funerary data from the Poundbury sites, which had different demographic profiles, significantly higher frequencies of the indicators of stress and dental health variables. In conclusion, there are significant health, demographic, and mortality differences between rural and urban populations in Roman Britain.

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Identifying migrants in Roman London using lead and strontium stable isotopes

Shaw

Montgomery

Redfern

et al. 2016

Journal of Archaeological Science

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(2016) 'Identifying migrants in Roman London using lead and strontium stable isotopes.', Journal of archaeological science., 66 . pp. 57-68.Further information on publisher's website: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details.

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Beyond the Grave. Excavating the Dead in the Late Roman Provinces

Cited by 7 publications

References 42 publications

‘Choicest unguents’: molecular evidence for the use of resinous plant exudates in late Roman mortuary rites in Britain

‘Choicest unguents’: molecular evidence for the use of resinous plant exudates in late Roman mortuary rites in Britain

Urban–rural differences in Roman Dorset, England: A bioarchaeological perspective on Roman settlements

Identifying migrants in Roman London using lead and strontium stable isotopes

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