Sarcophagi in Roman Britain - Bollettino di archeologia on line

Ben Russell<strong>Sarcophagi</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>IntroductionBurial practice <strong>in</strong> <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> is tra<strong>di</strong>tionally <strong>di</strong>vided <strong>in</strong>to two <strong>di</strong>st<strong>in</strong>ct chronological phases, onecharacterised by the dom<strong>in</strong>ance of cremation, the other <strong>in</strong>humation, as the preferred burial rite 1 . The first ofthese is generally identified as runn<strong>in</strong>g from the period of the <strong>Roman</strong> conquest (AD 43) to the late 2 nd centuryAD, the second from this po<strong>in</strong>t onwards. Both are connected with developments beyond the conf<strong>in</strong>es of theprov<strong>in</strong>ce, and particularly at Rome where the gradual shift from cremation to <strong>in</strong>humation had its roots <strong>in</strong> thelate 1 st or early 2 nd century AD. Of course, neither of these phases brought sweep<strong>in</strong>g changes to thecemeteries of Brita<strong>in</strong>. The burial practices of pre-<strong>Roman</strong> Iron Age Brita<strong>in</strong> were extremely localized, both <strong>in</strong>geographic and chronological terms. Cremation, the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal burial rite at Rome and <strong>in</strong> the westernprov<strong>in</strong>ces at the time of the conquest, was already the dom<strong>in</strong>ant rite <strong>in</strong> south-east Brita<strong>in</strong>, and had beens<strong>in</strong>ce the mid 1 st century BC 2 . Elsewhere, where <strong>in</strong>humation was the norm, a shift towards cremation isnoticeable but not ubiquitous 3 . Military and urban sites, where the number of non-native Britons was probablyhigher, offer the greatest density of cremations <strong>in</strong> the 1 st century AD 4 . At many sites the <strong>di</strong>fferent ritescont<strong>in</strong>ued side-by-side: at the cemetery at Jordan Hill, <strong>in</strong> Dorset, for example, <strong>in</strong>humations cont<strong>in</strong>uedalongside cremations well <strong>in</strong>to the 2 nd century AD 5 . At the same time and <strong>in</strong> parallel with these developmentspre-<strong>Roman</strong> <strong>in</strong>humation practices cont<strong>in</strong>ued unaffected <strong>in</strong> many more remote, less-urbanized areas.In large areas of the prov<strong>in</strong>ce, therefore, the second major shift – this time from cremation to<strong>in</strong>humation – <strong>in</strong> the late 2 nd century AD represented a return to tra<strong>di</strong>tional practices; elsewhere it was asimple cont<strong>in</strong>uation. Nevertheless, <strong>in</strong> regions where <strong>Roman</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluence was greatest, where cremation ritesachieved dom<strong>in</strong>ance post-conquest, the return of <strong>in</strong>humation represented a more fundamental change <strong>in</strong>practice, one mirror<strong>in</strong>g developments that had begun at Rome <strong>in</strong> the late 1 st and early 2 nd centuries AD 6 .Though traces of wooden burial conta<strong>in</strong>ers have been identified <strong>in</strong> early <strong>Roman</strong>, possibly even pre-<strong>Roman</strong>, contexts, it would appear that the use of coff<strong>in</strong>s only became common <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> this later period –that is, the late 2 nd and early 3 rd centuries AD 7 . Inhumation was generally a cheaper form of burial rite than1 See the recent syntheses by Philpott (1991) and Taylor (2001).2 See WHIMSTER 1981 on the general subject of burial <strong>in</strong> pre-<strong>Roman</strong> Iron Age Brita<strong>in</strong>; on the South-East, <strong>in</strong> particular, WHIMSTER 1981,147–166, and PHILPOTT 1991, 6–7.3 WAIT 1986, 83–121, and TAYLOR 2001, 87–90.4 PHILPOTT 1991, 8.5 WATTS 1991, 114.6 See NOCK 1932, 325, and TOYNBEE 1971, 40.7 See WHIMSTER 1981, 271, for the skeleton of a child <strong>in</strong> a wooden coff<strong>in</strong> from a cist burial at Worth Matravers <strong>in</strong> Dorset.Bollett<strong>in</strong>o <strong>di</strong> Archeologia on l<strong>in</strong>e I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E10 / 2 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076www.<strong>archeologia</strong>.beniculturali.it/pages/pubblicazioni.html14

XVII International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Roma 22-26 Sept. 2008Session: <strong>Roman</strong> and Barbariancremation so the use of any coff<strong>in</strong> at all can be seen as a demonstration of some level of wealth or perceivedstatus 8 .MaterialsThree materials are used for coff<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>: wood, lead and stone. Unsurpris<strong>in</strong>gly, lead and stoneappear to have been the more prestigious but this is not to say that wooden coff<strong>in</strong>s were somehow lowstatus. Of the 453 burials excavated at the Bath Gate cemetery at Cirencester, for example, only 72 (16%)were conta<strong>in</strong>ed with<strong>in</strong> wooden coff<strong>in</strong>s; at the same time only one (0.2%) was conta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> a lead coff<strong>in</strong>, andonly five (1.1%) <strong>in</strong> stone coff<strong>in</strong>s. At the somewhat wealthier Cemetery 3 at Poundbury, conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g burialsdat<strong>in</strong>g ma<strong>in</strong>ly to the 4 th century AD, 856 (77%) of the 1118 burials excavated prior to 1982 were <strong>in</strong> woodencoff<strong>in</strong>s, only 75 (7%) <strong>in</strong> lead or stone ones 9 . At the Trentholme Drive site <strong>in</strong> York, on the other hand, almostall of the 350 burials excavated were conta<strong>in</strong>ed with<strong>in</strong> coff<strong>in</strong>s but only two of them were stone 10 .In all of these cases the choice of material appears to have held particular significance. As Toller hasnoted <strong>in</strong> his catalogue of the lead coff<strong>in</strong>s of <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> the <strong>di</strong>stribution of these 243 pieces is reflectiveless of the location of lead resources than it is of the ‘wealth <strong>in</strong> <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>’ more generally 11 . In otherwords, people were not simply us<strong>in</strong>g the material that was to hand. The majority of the lead pieces arespread over south-eastern and southern Brita<strong>in</strong>, with 55% com<strong>in</strong>g from cemeteries <strong>di</strong>rectly associated withmajor urban centres, particularly York, Dorchester, Colchester and London 12 . Even <strong>in</strong> a prov<strong>in</strong>ce wellendowedwith m<strong>in</strong>eral resources, lead can never have been a cheap material <strong>in</strong> which to bury oneself. Thesame is no doubt true of stone.The decorated sarcophagi<strong>Roman</strong>o-British sarcophagi, or stone coff<strong>in</strong>s, are relatively common but, due to the scarcity ofdecorated pieces, have received little scholarly attention 13 . The same is true of the numerous undecoratedsarcophagi from Gaul and the Rh<strong>in</strong>eland. In part this is because these pla<strong>in</strong>-sided pieces do not fit theresearch agenda of the more art historically m<strong>in</strong>ded scholars who have been responsible for the publicationof the bulk of sculpted stone objects <strong>in</strong> the north-western prov<strong>in</strong>ces (fig. 1). In her comprehensive study of art<strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> under the <strong>Roman</strong>s, for example, Toynbee mentions seven sarcophagi, of which only five arecarved from local materials 14 . However, sarcophagi have also received little attention <strong>in</strong> stu<strong>di</strong>es of <strong>Roman</strong>o-British funerary practice; <strong>in</strong> her study of high-status burials between the 1 st and 3 rd centuries, for example,Struck <strong>di</strong>scusses built funerary monuments, grave goods, and the location of burials, but not sarcophagi 15 .In fact, well over a hundred <strong>Roman</strong>o-British sarcophagi have been identified. These fall <strong>in</strong>to three<strong>di</strong>st<strong>in</strong>ct categories:1. Imports (carved from non-British stone, probably outside of the prov<strong>in</strong>ce).2. Locally-produced decorated or <strong>in</strong>scribed pieces (<strong>in</strong> British stone).3. Locally-produced undecorated pieces (<strong>in</strong> British stone) 16 .…………………………………………8 See PHILPOTT 1991, 53, and QUENSEL-VON-KALBEN 2000, 223.9 See GREEN 1982, 64.10 See VINER, LEECH 1982, 69–88, and WENHAM 1968, 33–39.11 TOLLER 1977.12 TOLLER 1977, 2–3.13 On this po<strong>in</strong>t, see PHILPOTT 1991, 53.14 See TOYNBEE 1964, 210–211; as Walker (1990, 9) has noted, un-decorated sarcophagi are only fleet<strong>in</strong>gly <strong>di</strong>scussed <strong>in</strong> KOCH,SICHTERMANN 1982, and were not catalogued by Espéran<strong>di</strong>eu.15 STRUCK 2000, 85–92.16 There appear to be no examples of a possible fourth category, locally-produced sarcophagi carved from imported materials, like thenorth-Italian sarcophagi <strong>di</strong>scussed <strong>in</strong> GABELMANN 1973, many of which are carved <strong>in</strong> Proconnesian marble.Bollett<strong>in</strong>o <strong>di</strong> Archeologia on l<strong>in</strong>e I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E10 / 2 Reg. 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B. Russell – <strong>Sarcophagi</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>Abb. 1 – Undecorated <strong>Roman</strong>o-British sarcophagi <strong>in</strong> the gardens of the Yorkshire Museum.Only three sarcophagi from Brita<strong>in</strong> can be assigned confidently to the first of these categories. Twoare products of metropolitan workshops while a fragmentary third example, carved from Pentelic marble,must be Attic <strong>in</strong> form 17 . All come from rural sites close to London and apparently date to the first half of the3 rd century AD. A fourth piece, the marble fragment depict<strong>in</strong>g the Muses found built <strong>in</strong>to the wall of a church<strong>in</strong> Harwich and now <strong>in</strong> the British Museum, is less certa<strong>in</strong>ly an ancient import 18 . The stone used <strong>in</strong> not ofMe<strong>di</strong>terranean orig<strong>in</strong> but could be Pyrenean. S<strong>in</strong>ce Koch and Sichtermann argued that it was a prov<strong>in</strong>cialcopy of a metropolitan type, it might represent an import from Gaul 19 . However, this is pure hypothesis and,as Walker notes, it could just as likely be a later collector’s piece, perhaps reworked <strong>in</strong> the 18 th or 19 thcenturies, and so not an ancient import. S<strong>in</strong>ce all of the imported architectural elements <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> are oflimited <strong>di</strong>mensions, these sarcophagi are the largest s<strong>in</strong>gle imported stone objects <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> 20 . Though none17 The two metropolitan pieces, from Clapton (London) and Englefield Green (Surrey), are <strong>di</strong>scussed by Toynbee (1964, 210–211),while the Attic piece from Welwyn (Hertfordshire) is described <strong>in</strong> Rook, Walker and DENSTON 1984, 149–160; more fragments of theWelwyn sarcophagus are due to be published by M. Henig <strong>in</strong> a forthcom<strong>in</strong>g CSIR volume.18 WALKER 1990, no. 70.19 KOCH, SICHTERMANN 1982, 308.20 Most marble was imported <strong>in</strong>to Brita<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> panel form, for use as wall veneer or floor tiles; statues are found but they are generallysmall <strong>in</strong> size (exceptions be<strong>in</strong>g the busts from the villa at Lull<strong>in</strong>gstone <strong>in</strong> Kent now <strong>in</strong> the British Museum (see TOYNBEE 1964, 59–62);the largest imported architectural elements meanwhile are the small columns and capitals <strong>in</strong> French limestone from the Neronian andFlavian phases of the palatial-villa at Fishbourne (see BLAGG 1990, 35).Bollett<strong>in</strong>o <strong>di</strong> Archeologia on l<strong>in</strong>e I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E10 / 2 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076www.<strong>archeologia</strong>.beniculturali.it/pages/pubblicazioni.html16

XVII International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Roma 22-26 Sept. 2008Session: <strong>Roman</strong> and Barbarianare <strong>in</strong>scribed, their owners were obviously wealthy <strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>viduals: the fragmentary Attic piece, at least, wasrecovered from a large and prom<strong>in</strong>ent mausoleum at Welwyn 21 .Table 1 – The <strong>in</strong>scribed sarcophagi of <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>.F<strong>in</strong>dsp ot S it e I nscription1 York Driffield Est ate, The M ount D(is) M(an ibus) | Ae l(iae ) Sever(a)e honest(a)e f em <strong>in</strong>(a)e |coniu gi Caec(ili) Rufi quo nd(am) | v(ixit) an(nos) X XVII m (e nse s)V III d(ies) I III Ca ec(iliu s) | Musicus lib(ert us) e[ i]us p(osu it )2 York Castle Y ard D(is) M(an ibus) | Au r(elio) S upero cent(urioni) | leg (ionis) VI qu ivixit a n(n)is | X XXVI II m (ensibu s) IIII d(ieb us) XI II A ure|liaCenso r<strong>in</strong>a co niux | m em oriam p osuit3 York S carboroug h Ra ilway Brid ge D(is) M(an ibus) | Fl[a] vi Bellatoris d ec(urion is) col(oniae)E boracen s(is) | vixit annis XX VIII m esib [us … | …] II I[…] II […]4 York S carboroug h Ra ilway Brid ge I ul(iae) Fortuna t(a)e dom o | S ard<strong>in</strong>ia Ve re c(un<strong>di</strong>o) Dio|geni f idaconiu ncta | m arito5 York Castle Y ard D(is) M(an ibus) | et m emoriae Iuliae V ict or<strong>in</strong>(a)e | qu ae vixitann os XXVI III me nse s I I d ie s XV | e t Constantio qui vixit annosI V <strong>di</strong>es X XI | menses XI Se ptim ius Lupian us (=cen tu rio) e xevoc(at o) | co niugi e t filio m emoriam posu it6 York Driffield Est ate, The M ount D(is) M(an ibus) S imp lic ia e Flo re nt<strong>in</strong> (a )e | a nim e <strong>in</strong>no cen tissim e |que vixit m en ses dec em | Felicius Sim p lex pa ter f ecit | leg VI V7 York Driffield Est ate, The M ount M em (oriae) [V] al(erii) Theod ori|an i [N]om ent(ani) vixit ann (os) |X XXV m(en ses ) V I E m i The o|do [r]a m ater e(ius) c(ausa)8 York S carboroug h Ra ilway Brid ge M (arcus) V erec(un<strong>di</strong>us ) Diogenes sevir col(on ia e) |E bor(acensis) ide m q[ u<strong>in</strong>q (uennalis) e t] cive s B it urix | Cubushae c sibi vivu s fe cit9 Yorkshire S ut ton -u nder-W h itest oneCliffD(is) M(an ibus) | Co sc(oniae) M am m iolae co ni(ugi) piisim (ae) |A ur(elius) Serenu s10 L ondon W e stm <strong>in</strong>st er Abbey M em oriae V aler(i) A m an|d<strong>in</strong>i V aleri S upe rve n|tor et M arcelluspat ri f ece r(un t)More can be said about the decorated local products. These are represented by fifteen examples –two from London, thirteen from York – ten of which are <strong>in</strong>scribed. 22 The data recoverable from their<strong>in</strong>scriptions are detailed <strong>in</strong> Table 1. Seven of these sarcophagi can be assigned tentatively to eithercenturions, civil magistrates or members of their families. Aurelius Superus and Felicius Simplex (no. 2 and6) both give their legion as VI Victrix, stationed <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> s<strong>in</strong>ce at least AD 122. Septimius Lupianus (no. 5), acenturion ex evocatis, must have previously served <strong>in</strong> the Praetorian Guard 23 . Flavius Bellator (no. 3) recordsthat he was a decurion of the colonia of Eburacum, while Aelia Severa (no. 1) might be the daughter or wifeof another member of the ordo decurionum, given her title of honesta fem<strong>in</strong>a 24 . Marcus Verecun<strong>di</strong>usDiogenes (no. 8), furthermore, on a now lost sarcophagus, identifies himself as a sevir coloniae Eboracensisand it is likely that Julia Fortunata (no. 4) is his wife. Of the York pieces, therefore, only Aurelius Serenus andValerius Theodorianus give no <strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>cation of their status.The names of these <strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>viduals are also reflective of their class: many are unparalleled <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>, likethe cognom<strong>in</strong>a Bellator and Superus, while others are generally rare, like Lupianus and Censor<strong>in</strong>a. Foreignl<strong>in</strong>ks are specifically noted <strong>in</strong> the case of Marcus Verecun<strong>di</strong>us Diogenes, a citizen of the Bituriges Cubi from21 ROOK, WALKER, DENSTON 1984, 159.22 London: RCHM England 1928, Plate 57. York: four from the Driffield Estate, The Mount (RAMM 1958, 412–413 (TUFI 1983, no. 77)and 414–415 (no. 1 (TUFI 1983, no. 64), 6 and 7)), three from the area of the Railway Station (TUFI 1983, no. 67–69) and three from thenearby Scarborough Railway Bridge (RAMM 1958, 414–415 (no. 3 (TUFI 1983, no. 62), 4 (TUFI 1983, no. 60) and 8 (TUFI 1983, no. 65))),as well as two from Castle Yard (RAMM 1958, 402–403 and 414 (no. 2 (=TUFI 1983, no. 63)) and 402–403 and 414 (no. 5 (=TUFI 1983,no. 61)); <strong>in</strong> ad<strong>di</strong>tion, a s<strong>in</strong>gle <strong>in</strong>scribed sarcophagus was found <strong>in</strong> 1956 at Sutton-under-Whitestone Cliff, near Thirsk (WENHAM 1960,298–300).23 RAMM 1958, 402–403.24 See TUFI 1983, no. 64 (42–43 on this po<strong>in</strong>t).Bollett<strong>in</strong>o <strong>di</strong> Archeologia on l<strong>in</strong>e I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E10 / 2 Reg. 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B. Russell – <strong>Sarcophagi</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>Aquitania 25 . The <strong>in</strong>scribed sarcophagi of York <strong>in</strong> particular, therefore, give a remarkable snap-shot of theupper classes of the city. Most probably date to the 3 rd century AD; those mention<strong>in</strong>g the colonia ofEburacum post-date 208–211 when the city was granted this status. Indeed it is surely no accident thatthese pieces date to the period imme<strong>di</strong>ately follow<strong>in</strong>g the establishment of the colony.The decorative schemes of these pieces also demonstrate an awareness of artistic trends outside ofBrita<strong>in</strong>. The sarcophagi of Julia Fortunata and Verecun<strong>di</strong>us Diogenes both have tabulae ansatae with peltashapedansae on their front facades, similar to three identical un<strong>in</strong>scribed pieces also from York 26 . Rougherversions of these pelta-shaped ansae are found on the sarcophagi of Aurelius Superus and Aelia Severa 27 .The sarcophagus of Flavius Bellator meanwhile has a more tra<strong>di</strong>tionally shaped tabula ansata. Ansaeshaped as peltae are not uncommon <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> but close parallels for this overall scheme come from theRh<strong>in</strong>eland, Noricum and Pannonia 28 . Consider<strong>in</strong>g the stylistic parallels between the decorated British piecesand cont<strong>in</strong>ental examples, it is possible that craftsmen associated with the military were <strong>in</strong>volved. Certa<strong>in</strong>lythe sarcophagus of the family of Septimius Lupianus is of such quality that Toynbee preferred to see ‘thehand of a legionary artist of Me<strong>di</strong>terranean orig<strong>in</strong>’ at work, rather than a local craftsman 29 . The closestparallel to this piece is the sarcophagus of Clau<strong>di</strong>a Ursa from Carnuntum 30 . Members of the legio VI Victrixwere certa<strong>in</strong>ly drawn from this rough area: a detachment of sol<strong>di</strong>ers from this legion who describethemselves as citizens of Italy and Noricum de<strong>di</strong>cated a shr<strong>in</strong>e and statuette to Mercury at Castlecary, <strong>in</strong>Stirl<strong>in</strong>gshire 31 . However, it is equally possible that local craftsmen were simply respond<strong>in</strong>g to the demands oftheir military clients. The third-century un<strong>in</strong>scribed sarcophagus from the M<strong>in</strong>ories <strong>in</strong> London, for example,shows an awareness of fashions <strong>in</strong> Rome but is clearly, as Walker has noted, ‘a prov<strong>in</strong>cial <strong>in</strong>terpretation ofmetropolitan <strong>Roman</strong> work’ 32 .It is tempt<strong>in</strong>g to see the elite <strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>viduals who commissioned these decorated pieces as deliberatelyexploit<strong>in</strong>g the sarcophagus as a monumental me<strong>di</strong>um, and a qu<strong>in</strong>tessentially Greco-<strong>Roman</strong> one at that, fordemonstrat<strong>in</strong>g their own romanitas, wealth and consequent status. Indeed a similar phenomenon, alsodatable to the 3 rd century AD, has been observed by Mócsy among the upper classes of the urban elite <strong>in</strong>Pannonia and Moesia Superior 33 .The undecorated sarcophagiIs it possible, however, to draw the same conclusion for the hundreds of undecorated, un<strong>in</strong>scribed<strong>Roman</strong>o-British sarcophagi? Did these objects <strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>cate a particular k<strong>in</strong>d of status that other modes of burial<strong>di</strong>d not?Walker has suggested that the undecorated sarcophagi of Brita<strong>in</strong> and elsewhere <strong>in</strong> the north-westernprov<strong>in</strong>ces often served ‘as a protective outer conta<strong>in</strong>er for burials and grave goods, often of high value, andnot, as <strong>in</strong> decorated sarcophagi of Me<strong>di</strong>terranean orig<strong>in</strong> or <strong>in</strong>spiration, to express the cultural pretensions ofthose who commissioned them’ 34 . <strong>Sarcophagi</strong> were certa<strong>in</strong>ly functional, often act<strong>in</strong>g as an outer shell for<strong>in</strong>ternal lead coff<strong>in</strong>s. However, though the number of sarcophagi excavated <strong>in</strong> controlled con<strong>di</strong>tions is25 Numerous <strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>viduals of Gaulish orig<strong>in</strong> are attested <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> this period: for example, Philus, son of Cassavus, a Sequanian fromthe upper Saône, at Cirencester (RIB I.110) and Lucius Viducius Placidus, a cives Veliocass<strong>in</strong>ius negotiator Britannicianus, also at York(HASSALL, TOMLIN 1977, 430 (no. 18)).26 TUFI 1983, Plates 18 and 20.27 TUFI 1983, Plate 19.28 See KOCH, SICHTERMANN 1982, 300–308 and 323–343.29 TOYNBEE 1964, 211.30 KRÜGER 1972, no. 213.31 RIB I.2148.32 WALKER 1990, no. 71.33 MÓCSY 1974, 237–238.34 WALKER 1990, 10.Bollett<strong>in</strong>o <strong>di</strong> Archeologia on l<strong>in</strong>e I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E10 / 2 Reg. 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XVII International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Roma 22-26 Sept. 2008Session: <strong>Roman</strong> and Barbarianrelatively low, several examples recently excavated<strong>in</strong> Newcastle show that not all sarcophagiconta<strong>in</strong>ed rich burials. The first ofthese, with an unsealed lid, conta<strong>in</strong>ed the skeletonof a child and a possible secondary burialbut no grave goods. The second, this time withan unopened lead-sealed lid, conta<strong>in</strong>ed theburial of an adult, probably female with a jethairp<strong>in</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g the only surviv<strong>in</strong>g grave good 35 .These sarcophagi <strong>di</strong>d not, therefore, protectvaluable grave goods. Instead, they were placedclose to and well above the level of a <strong>Roman</strong>road, possibly that runn<strong>in</strong>g out of the nearbytown of Pons Aelius; they were obviously<strong>in</strong>tended to be highly visible. These examplesshow that these undecorated pieces were notmerely protective. Although certa<strong>in</strong>ly functional<strong>in</strong> this regard, there is suggestive evidence thatthey could have an ad<strong>di</strong>tional symbolicmean<strong>in</strong>g.The overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g majority of sarcophagiused <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> were locally carved fromnative materials. These are listed <strong>in</strong> Table 2.Abb. 2 – Distribution map of <strong>Roman</strong>o-British sarcophagi.The <strong>di</strong>stribution of the known examples ismapped <strong>in</strong> Figure 2 even though documentationexists for only a small portion of the total 36 . Though the stone type has been analysed <strong>in</strong> only a handful ofcases some <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g results emerge. Where suitable local stone was available sarcophagi were carvedfrom it, as one would expect: this is the case with oolitic limestone <strong>in</strong> Gloucestershire and Somerset andMillstone grit at York 37 . At Cirencester, the Bath Gate cemetery is imme<strong>di</strong>ately adjacent to the city’s ma<strong>in</strong>quarries so transport costs were kept to an absolute m<strong>in</strong>imum 38 . However, the fact that value was attachedto stone as a me<strong>di</strong>um <strong>in</strong> itself is illustrated by the examples from the south-east of the prov<strong>in</strong>ce 39 . Here,limestone had to be imported. Stone from the quarries at Barnack and Ancaster, <strong>in</strong> northern Cambridgeshireand L<strong>in</strong>colnshire respectively, is used <strong>in</strong> London, southern Cambridgeshire and Essex, <strong>in</strong> the last casealongside oolitic limestone, the closest source of which is <strong>in</strong> Oxfordshire 40 . Some <strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>cation of the cost ofmov<strong>in</strong>g this material can be ga<strong>in</strong>ed from later sources. The stone used for the porch of Corpus ChristiCollege, Cambridge, <strong>in</strong> 1583–1584, for example, which came from quarries <strong>in</strong> the vic<strong>in</strong>ity of Barnack andnearby Weldon, cost 75% of its orig<strong>in</strong>al value to be moved 16km overland 41 . When one considers that35 This <strong>in</strong>formation comes from the prelim<strong>in</strong>ary report on the excavation <strong>in</strong> summer 2008 of the sarcophagi at the BEMCO site, Claver<strong>in</strong>gPlaces, Newcastle upon Tyne, prepared by the Archaeological Services of the University of Durham.36 S<strong>in</strong>ce so many of these pieces were recorded <strong>in</strong> the 18 th , 19 th and early 20 th centuries details of their <strong>di</strong>scovery are often patchy.37 See GRAY 1922, 371–375, WILLMORE 1939, 158–161, and VINER, LEECH 1982, 88–92; on the Millstone grit examples seen RAMM1958, 402–403 and 412–413, DICKINSON, WENHAM 1958, 291–292, WENHAM 1960, 317–318 and 327 (Appen<strong>di</strong>x 3), and WENHAM 1968,40–42.38 VINER, LEECH 1982, 88–90; see VANHAVERBEKE, WAELKENS 2002 for a similar situation at Hierapolis <strong>in</strong> Phrygia where over 1474sarcophagi have been identified to date, 89.9% of them carved from travert<strong>in</strong>e quarried on the edge of the north-western necropolis.39 Contrary to the view of Esmonde Cleary (1987, 12), I th<strong>in</strong>k that even <strong>in</strong> areas well-supplied with stone resources, stone coff<strong>in</strong>s wouldbe more expensive than wooden ones.40 On London, see RCHM England 1928, 157 and 163, and TOYNBEE 1964, 210–211; on Cambridgeshire, WALKER 1908, 273–284, FELL1955, 13–23, RUDD, DAINES 1971, 1–8, LIVERSIDGE 1977, 15 and 23, and TAYLOR 1984, 15; and on Essex, POWELL 1963, 146–147, andJONES 1979, 26–30.41 ALEXANDER 1995, 127.Bollett<strong>in</strong>o <strong>di</strong> Archeologia on l<strong>in</strong>e I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E10 / 2 Reg. 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B. Russell – <strong>Sarcophagi</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>Table 2 – Prelim<strong>in</strong>ary list of the un<strong>in</strong>scribed sarcophagi of <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>.Location Site Number F<strong>in</strong>d date MaterialCambridge Arbury Road 2 1952 Barnack limestoneCast le 1 1820Hunt<strong>in</strong>gdon Road 2 1863 Barnack limestoneCambridgeshire St Neots 2 1968 Barnack limestoneChesterton-W ater Newton 8-16 1828-1958Ickleton 1Lit l<strong>in</strong>gton 1 1821Bourn 1 1942Stilton 1W ansford, Stibb<strong>in</strong>gton 1 1940Hem<strong>in</strong>gford Abbot s 1 1870Eye 1Broughton 1Cast or 1Stuntney 1 Barnack limestoneLord's Bridge, B arton 1 1907 Barnack limestoneUpt on 1Dorset Poundbury At least 10 1970-1980 HamstonePoundbury 1 1970-1980 Portland limest oneEssex Heybridge 6 1873-1875 Ancaster limestoneMuck<strong>in</strong>g V illa 1 1978 Oolitic limestoneOld Ford, Bow 1Ra<strong>in</strong>ham 1 1927Gloucestershire Bath Gate, Cirencester 6 Oolitic limestoneCirencester At least 20 Oolitic limestoneCold Ashton Manor 1 1935 Oolitic limestoneDyrham 2 1932 Oolitic limestoneK<strong>in</strong>gsholm At least 1 Oolitic limestoneHertfordshire Park Street V illa 2 1955 LimestoneKent W hatmere Hall, Sturry 1Keston 1L<strong>in</strong>colns hire Ancas ter 7 1970 LimestoneLondon Various 12 1631-2006 LimestoneNorthamptonshire Irchester 2Somerset Ilchester At least 5Keynsham 2 1922 Oolitic limestoneCombe Hay 3Midford 1Bath At least 2Yatton 1 1828Tyne and Wear Newcastle 4 1903 & 2008 SandstoneW orcestershire Crowle 1York Trentholme Drive, The Mount 1 1952 Millstone gritDrif field Estate, The Mount 1 1939 Millstone gritThe Mount 1 1807Cast le Yard 1 1835 SandstoneAppletree Farm 3 1959Holgate Road, The Mount 2 1881-1959 Millstone gritW est Yorkshire Adel 6 1760-1849Bollett<strong>in</strong>o <strong>di</strong> Archeologia on l<strong>in</strong>e I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E10 / 2 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076www.<strong>archeologia</strong>.beniculturali.it/pages/pubblicazioni.html20

XVII International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Roma 22-26 Sept. 2008Session: <strong>Roman</strong> and BarbarianLondon is over 145km from these quarries and that <strong>in</strong> the 14 th century it took seventeen days to br<strong>in</strong>g stoneby cart from Nott<strong>in</strong>gham to W<strong>in</strong>dsor, a <strong>di</strong>stance of around 200km, it is clear that significant amounts ofmoney and effort were spent on procur<strong>in</strong>g sarcophagi <strong>in</strong> these areas, even if they rema<strong>in</strong>ed undecorated 42 .Stone as a material clearly had symbolic value.There is also good evidence from the cemeteries themselves to <strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>cate the prestige value of evenundecorated sarcophagi. Alongside the decorated and <strong>in</strong>scribed pieces from York, undecorated sarcophagihave also been recovered, many of them from the same cemetery sites, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the richly furnished oneson the Driffield Estate and at the Railway Station site, near the Scarborough Bridge 43 . In 1807 a barrelvaultedstone-built mausoleum was <strong>di</strong>scovered <strong>in</strong> York that conta<strong>in</strong>ed an undecorated sarcophagus withassociated grave goods dat<strong>in</strong>g it to the late 3 rd century 44 . Similar mausolea, also conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g undecoratedsarcophagi have been excavated <strong>in</strong> and around Cambridge 45 . S<strong>in</strong>ce funerary build<strong>in</strong>gs are generally rare <strong>in</strong><strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>, these examples suggest a level of <strong>in</strong>vestment well above the norm.At Poundbury the ‘special burials’, <strong>in</strong> either stone or lead coff<strong>in</strong>s were regularly arranged <strong>in</strong> clusters,the space between them filled with ord<strong>in</strong>ary graves, arranged <strong>in</strong> approximate rows. Few of these clustersconta<strong>in</strong>ed more than one sarcophagus while groups of up to eight lead coff<strong>in</strong>s were common, perhaps<strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>cative of the relative value of each material. In seven cases these ‘special burials’ were conta<strong>in</strong>ed with<strong>in</strong>built mausolea, one of which was decorated with wall-pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs apparently depict<strong>in</strong>g a civic or religiousscene 46 . Numismatic and ceramic evidence from the site dates the earliest of coff<strong>in</strong>ed burials (Cemetery 3A)to the 3 rd century and many of the more elaborate ones to the 4 th (Cemetery 3C).Elsewhere, there is tantalis<strong>in</strong>g evidence for the <strong>in</strong>tegration of sarcophagus usage <strong>in</strong>to tra<strong>di</strong>tionalmodes of localized elite burial customs. In the limited time available a s<strong>in</strong>gle example, the barrow at Lord’sBridge, near Barton <strong>in</strong> Cambridgeshire, will have to suffice 47 . This undecorated taper<strong>in</strong>g sarcophagus wasexcavated <strong>in</strong> 1907 from beneath the centre of a large barrow on the edge of the <strong>Roman</strong> road south-west ofCambridge. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to reports made at the time of excavation, this barrow measured 14.6m by 7.3m andhad a maximum height of 2.6m, and was clearly <strong>in</strong>tended to be a visible monument <strong>in</strong> the landscape. Largebarrows of this k<strong>in</strong>d represent a cont<strong>in</strong>uation of late pre-<strong>Roman</strong> Iron Age practices and, as Struck has noted,‘show signs of wealth such as <strong>in</strong>ternal grave constructions, valuable conta<strong>in</strong>ers and costly grave goods, andquite frequently conta<strong>in</strong> status symbols’ 48 .What these examples clearly demonstrate is the prestige value of stone coff<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> late <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>.The stone from which these objects were carved was often transported long <strong>di</strong>stances at significantexpense. <strong>Sarcophagi</strong> are frequently associated with built mausolea, and occasionally barrows, tra<strong>di</strong>tionallyhigh status modes of funerary <strong>di</strong>splay. At York, where the epigraphic evidence allows us an <strong>in</strong>sight <strong>in</strong>to thecharacter of the <strong>in</strong><strong>di</strong>viduals commemorated, sarcophagi were the preserve of the social elite – the municipaland military officials who dom<strong>in</strong>ated the upper echelons of third- and fourth-century <strong>Roman</strong>o-British society.All of this is true even of the undecorated pieces tra<strong>di</strong>tionally neglected by scholarship. Stone, as a material,achieved status <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> dur<strong>in</strong>g this period only under external <strong>in</strong>fluences and these locally producedsarcophagi represent the ambitions of a local elite <strong>in</strong>fluenced by such external pressures.42 See SALZMAN 1967, 349, on transport times <strong>in</strong> Me<strong>di</strong>aeval England.43 See RAMM 1958, 413, WENHAM 1960, 316–317, and 1968, fig. 2.44 BANKS 1812.45 TAYLOR 2001, 114 (fig. 48).46 See GREEN 1982, 71–72.47 WALKER 1908.48 STRUCK 2000, 88.Bollett<strong>in</strong>o <strong>di</strong> Archeologia on l<strong>in</strong>e I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E10 / 2 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076www.<strong>archeologia</strong>.beniculturali.it/pages/pubblicazioni.html21

B. Russell – <strong>Sarcophagi</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>AcknowledgmentsI am especially grateful to Kather<strong>in</strong>e Bearcock at the Yorkshire Museum, for allow<strong>in</strong>g me access to the stores <strong>in</strong> whichmost of the sarcophagi from York are kept, and to Richard Annis at the Archaeological Services of the University ofDurham for provid<strong>in</strong>g me with a prelim<strong>in</strong>ary report of the excavations at the BEMCO site <strong>in</strong> Newcastle upon Tyne. Thiswork is related to my doctoral research at the University of Oxford which is funded by the Arts and Humanities ResearchCouncil.Dr. Ben RussellSt John's College, OxfordE-mail: benjam<strong>in</strong>.russell@classics.ox.ac.ukBibliographyBANKS J., 1812. A description of a <strong>Roman</strong> vault, <strong>di</strong>scovered <strong>in</strong> the suburbs of the city of York. Archaeologia,16, 340.DICKINSON C., AND WENHAM P., 1958. Discoveries <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Roman</strong> cemetery on the Mount, York. YorkshireArchaeological Journal, 39, 283–323.ESMONDE CLEARY A. S., 1987. Extra-Mural Areas of <strong>Roman</strong>o-British Towns. BAR British Series169. Oxford.FELL C., 1956. <strong>Roman</strong> burials found at Arbury Road. Proceed<strong>in</strong>gs of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 49,13–23.GRAY H., 1922. <strong>Roman</strong> coff<strong>in</strong>s <strong>di</strong>scovered at Keynsham, 1922. Antiquaries Journal, 2, 371–375.GREEN C. J. S., 1982. The cemetery of a <strong>Roman</strong>o-British community at Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset. In S.M. PEARCE (ed), The Early Church <strong>in</strong> Western Brita<strong>in</strong> and Ireland. BAR British Series 102. Oxford, 61–76.JONES W. T., 1979. A <strong>Roman</strong>o-British stone coff<strong>in</strong> burial at Muck<strong>in</strong>g. Panorama. The Journal of the ThurrockLocal History Society, 22, 26–30.KOCH G., SICHTERMANN H., 1982. Römische Sarkophage. Munich.KRÜGER M.-L., 1972. Die Reliefs des Stadtgebietes von Carnuntum. Corpus Signorum Imperii <strong>Roman</strong>i:Österreich I.3. Vienna.LIVERSIDGE J., 1977. <strong>Roman</strong> burials <strong>in</strong> the Cambridge area. Proceed<strong>in</strong>gs of the Cambridge AntiquarianSociety, 67, 11–38.MÓCSY A., 1974. Pannonia and Upper Moesia: a History of the Middle Danube Prov<strong>in</strong>ces of the <strong>Roman</strong>Empire. London.NOCK A. D., 1932. Cremation and burial <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Roman</strong> Empire. Harvard Theological Review, 25, 321–367.PHILPOTT R., 1991. Burial Practices <strong>in</strong> <strong>Roman</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>: a survey of grave treatment and furnish<strong>in</strong>g, AD 43–410. BAR British Series 219. Oxford.POWELL W. R., (ed). 1963. A History of the County of Essex. Volume III: <strong>Roman</strong> Essex. Oxford.QUENSEL-VON-KALBEN L., 2000. Putt<strong>in</strong>g Late <strong>Roman</strong> burial practice <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> context. In J. PEARCE, M.MILLETT, M. STRUCK (eds), Burial, Society and Context <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Roman</strong> World, 217–230. Oxford.RAMM H. G., 1958. <strong>Roman</strong> burials from Castle Yard, York. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 39, 400–418.RCHM England 1928. An Inventory of the Historic Monuments of London. Royal Commission on HistoricalMonuments (England). Volume III: <strong>Roman</strong> London. London.ROOK T., WALKER S., DENSTON C. B., 1984. A <strong>Roman</strong> mausoleum and associated marble sarcophagus andburials from Welwyn, Hertfordshire. Britannia, 15, 143–162.RUDD G. T., DAINES C., 1971. <strong>Roman</strong> burials from Duloe Road, Eaton Ford, St Neots. Proceed<strong>in</strong>gs of theCambridge Antiquarian Society, 63, 1–8.Bollett<strong>in</strong>o <strong>di</strong> Archeologia on l<strong>in</strong>e I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E10 / 2 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076www.<strong>archeologia</strong>.beniculturali.it/pages/pubblicazioni.html22

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