When archaeologists begin their studies on a Roman city, they start off by asking a series of questions which will hopefully be answered during the process of excavation. At the top of the list would definitely be, who were the city’s inhabitants and what were they like?

The Roman religion previous to Christianity, believed that the soul of the dead was led along a subterranean river called Styx to the Hades, the land of the dead.  There, the spirit of the deceased was judged. The good went to the heavens, a place of peace and eternal happiness, while the evil went to hell.

During the funeral, a coin was placed under the deads’ tongue so they could pay Charon, the boatman who ferried the dead to Hades. Three judges would enquire about the life that the person had lived on Earth and then the soul was made to drink from the Lethe River, which made them forget their past. Many souls went to the Elysium (the place for heroes or warriors) or to the Great Meadows of the Asphodels (for the good citizens). If the Judges decided that the deceased had led a bad life, offending the gods, the spirit would be sent to Tartarus, the Roman hell. When it had spent a long time there, it would be allowed to travel to Elysium.

Interment became important from the II century A.D. on. Inhumation had been a primitive ritual practiced in Rome, according to Cicero, which archaeology has proven.  By the end of the Republic, the Roman funerary practices extended to the whole empire.  Laws were imposed for the burial of the dead to be on the outskirts of the cities, a measure taken for sanitary reasons, which lead to the planning of cemeteries- necropolis- outside the city.

The deceased was buried with funerary dowry, which usually included food and shoes for the journey into the Afterlife, and the deceased’s most precious possessions. The Romans believed that the Afterlife was similar to earthly life; therefore, the need to provide the dead with means to subsist.  However, from the II century A.D. on, the funerary practice of burying the furnishings by the deceased was abandoned.

Funerary rituals were practiced in two different ways; incineration or inhumation.

Incineration, or the cremating of the cadaver, was followed by burial of the ashes in urns created to remember the deceased. The process consisted of various steps.  First the body would be wrapped in a shroud and would be placed in their house for two days. Then, it would be taken to the cemetery and placed on a wooden pyre in the presence of retinue accompanying the deceased. Various offerings, such as small vases, unguent glass jars or ceramic ones called lachrymatories, which were used to contain the family’s and friend’s mourning tears, were placed by the body.  The fire would accelerate by the use resins, fish and other substances for fuel. Generally, the size of the pyre was related to the dead’s fortune. Once the body had been consumed by the flames, the ashes would be collected and placed inside an urn, along with offerings such as coins, jewels, accessories and unguent jars. The urn could be made of lead, silver, glass or pottery, and would be placed in a hole in the ground.

The rite of inhumation, or, in other words, the burial of a corpse, was deposited within a tomb in different ways. Examples of tombs could be simple boxes made from building materials, such as tile, or tombs made with reused amphora containers.  Other examples of burials are the sarcophagi made of wood, lead or marble.