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The Body in the Ditch: Alternative Funerary Practices on the Northern Frontier of the Roman Empire?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2019

Trudi Buck ,
Elizabeth M. Greene ,
Alexander Meyer ,
Victoria Barlow  and
Eleanor Graham
Trudi Buck
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Durham Universityt.j.buck@durham.ac.uk
Elizabeth M. Greene
Affiliation:
Department of Classical Studies, University of Western Ontarioegreene2@uwo.caameyer26@uwo.ca
Alexander Meyer
Affiliation:
Department of Classical Studies, University of Western Ontarioegreene2@uwo.caameyer26@uwo.ca
Victoria Barlow
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria Universityvicki.barlow@beds.ac.ukeleanor.graham@northumbria.ac.uk
Eleanor Graham
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria Universityvicki.barlow@beds.ac.ukeleanor.graham@northumbria.ac.uk
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Abstract

Disarticulated human remains were recovered from a first-century fort ditch at Vindolanda on the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire. Ancient DNA analysis revealed the skeleton to be that of a male individual and forensic taphonomic analysis suggested a primary deposition of the body in a waterlogged environment with no obvious evidence of formal burial. Occurrences of disarticulated human remains outside a cemetery context are often overlooked in Roman bioarchaeology. This discovery adds to the growing body of literature regarding alternative funerary practice in the Empire, highlighting that the concept of burial and disposal of the dead is more complex than ancient historical sources suggest. Details of the DNA analysis are provided in the Supplementary Material available at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X1900014X.

Keywords

VindolandaStanegatealternative funerary practiceforensic taphonomyancient DNARoman army
Type
Articles
Information
Britannia , Volume 50 , November 2019 , pp. 203 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019. Published by The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies 

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References

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