Réévaluation des arguments de simultanéité des dépôts de cadavres : l’exemple des sépultures plurielles de la catacombe des Saints Pierre-et-Marcellin (Rome)

Abstract

In archaeology, distinguishing between multiple burials (simultaneous deposits) and collective burials (successive deposits) generally relies on analyses of physical contacts between skeletons and the state of their joints. Although the usefulness of this approach is widely recognised, it does have some limitations, as it is ineffective when the bones are too poorly preserved or when there is no physical contact between the skeletons. Moreover, the dichotomy between collective burials and multiple burials seems too simplistic to characterise all the grave types that may be encountered and to summarise all the human behaviour patterns that can result in the deposit of numerous bodies in the same place. The mass graves in the catacomb of Saint Peter and Marcellinus (Rome, 1st–3rd century) clearly illustrate these issues. In this underground burial space, thousands of individuals were deposited in several huge chambers, in an unusual pattern. Our analysis of these graves raises questions about the suitability of the criteria commonly used to diagnose the simultaneity of burials, and highlights the usefulness of a number of alternative arguments, namely the ratio between the capacity of burial chambers and the volume of the corpses (calculated via three-dimensional modelling), management of the corpses, taphonomy of the layers of skeletons and the spatial distribution of the bodies according to age at death. Taken together, these arguments show that corpses were indeed deposited simultaneously in the burial chambers, but that this was done at several successive points in time.