Catering for the Cultural Identities of the Deceased in Roman Britain: Interpretative Potential and Problems

White, Natalie C. C.

doi:10.16995/trac2006_115_132

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The chicken, headless and atop sherds, is more likely a food offering. The potential implications of this choice and its positioning within the grave are not clear (see White 2007). It is likely therefore that the humour derived from this burial is accidental, as with other potential examples (see below).…”

Section: The Chicken-headed Man Of Baldockmentioning

confidence: 98%

Humour In Roman Archaeology

Croxford

2008

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal

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Section: The Chicken-headed Man Of Baldockmentioning

confidence: 98%

Humour In Roman Archaeology

Croxford

2008

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal

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“…Such a role would have befitted their association with Mercury (the Roman god of communication and travel), to whom large quantities of cockerels were sacrificed at the Temple of Uley, Gloucestershire (Woodward & Leach 1993). On other occasions, the presence of chickens in graves clearly represents a food offering, a practice that became more common in Britain through the Roman period (White 2007).…”

Section: The Dynamics Of Human-chicken Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redefining the timing and circumstances of the chicken's introduction to Europe and north-west Africa

et al. 2022

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Little is known about the early history of the chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), including the timing and circumstances of its introduction into new cultural environments. To evaluate its spatio-temporal spread across Eurasia and north-west Africa, the authors radiocarbon dated 23 chicken bones from presumed early contexts. Three-quarters returned dates later than those suggested by stratigraphy, indicating the importance of direct dating. The results indicate that chickens did not arrive in Europe until the first millennium BC. Moreover, a consistent time-lag between the introduction of chickens and their consumption by humans suggests that these animals were initially regarded as exotica and only several centuries later recognised as a source of ‘food’.

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Meals for the dead: investigating Romano-British accessory vessels in burials using organic residue analysis

Dunne,

Biddulph,

Cramp

et al. 2024

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Accessory vessels, including platters, dishes, beakers, flagons, jars, and amphorae, are a common feature of Romano-British burials, raising questions as to their provenance; for example, were such vessels recycled from the domestic sphere or made specially for funerary purposes? Furthermore, uncertainty surrounds their purpose: did they contain foods for the deceased, possibly for their final journey to the underworld? Interestingly, organic residue analysis of vessels from Baginton, a site adjacent to The Lunt fort, Coventry, an early (mid to late first century) Roman military cremation cemetery did not yield evidence for food offerings and may have reflected the use of seconds or damaged vessels in burials, perhaps to provide a symbolic meal. In contrast, here we provide, for the first time, direct chemical and isotopic evidence for ‘meals for the dead’, comprising mainly dairy products, often mixed with leafy plants, extracted from somewhat unusual accessory vessels found in a small, enclosed inhumation cemetery, perhaps associated with a family group, which dates to the late (third to late fourth century, or early fifth century A.D) in urban Canterbury. Thus, we can confirm that accessory vessels found in later Romano-British burials were, in this instance, used in the laying out of funerary meals, presumably to nourish the soul on the journey to the underworld. These preliminary insights on vessel use and burial practices across the span of the Roman occupation of Britain thus provide a strong hint at the diversity of Roman burial practices.

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Catering for the Cultural Identities of the Deceased in Roman Britain: Interpretative Potential and Problems

Cited by 3 publications

References 7 publications

Humour In Roman Archaeology

Humour In Roman Archaeology

Redefining the timing and circumstances of the chicken's introduction to Europe and north-west Africa

Meals for the dead: investigating Romano-British accessory vessels in burials using organic residue analysis

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