Burial Chamber Research Articles

Inscriptions from Tombs at Bir esh-Shaghala

Excavations during the past decade by the Supreme Council of Antiquities have uncovered a number of cemeteries belonging to the ancient city of Mut (Mothis in Greek), which was the capital of the Dakhleh Oasis. At one of these, Bir esh-Shaghala, these excavations have found several large mud-brick tombs which originally had pyramidal superstructures and subterranean burial chambers. The authors publish here, in advance of a full report on the site, the Greek and demotic texts found on and in two of the tombs.

A Family of Thirteenth Dynasty High Officials: New Evidence from South Abydos

During recent University of Pennsylvania excavations in the tomb of Woseribre Senebkay at South Abydos, we discovered that the burial chamber incorporated a number of limestone blocks deriving from earlier monuments. Three of these inscribed blocks in particular still retain the images and offering texts belonging to a small group of high officials, including the Overseer of Fields, Dedtu. Analysis of the texts upon the blocks demonstrates that the named individuals probably all belonged to the same family, and that their careers spanned the mid-Thirteenth Dynasty. This paper examines the texts and images upon the reused blocks from the tomb of Senebkay in detail, along with other contemporary evidence, in order to ascertain the identities of the people pictured upon them, where the reused blocks originally came from, and of what types of buildings they may once have been part.

Columbarium tombs and collective identity in Augustan Rome

Columbarium tombs are among the most recognizable forms of Roman architecture and also among the most enigmatic. The subterranean collective burial chambers have repeatedly sparked the imagination of modern commentators, but their origins and function remain obscure. Columbarium Tombs and Collective Identity in Augustan Rome situates columbaria within the development of Roman funerary architecture and the historical context of the early Imperial period. Contrary to earlier scholarship that often interprets columbaria primarily as economic burial solutions, Dorian Borbonus shows that they defined a community of people who were buried and commemorated collectively. Many of the tomb occupants were slaves and freed slaves, for whom collective burial was one strategy of community building that counterbalanced their exclusion in Roman society. Columbarium tombs were thus sites of social interaction that provided their occupants with a group identity that, this book shows, was especially relevant during the social and cultural transformation of the Augustan era.

Documenting an unknown funerary complex at Cyrene: ‘The Garden Tomb’. Architectural evolution and epigraphic issues

AbstractThe Garden Tomb is a remarkable funerary complex in the Southern Necropolis of Cyrene, consisting of two burial chambers set within a courtyard with a monumental Doric façade. The architectural arrangement of the main tomb, most likely dating back to the fourth century BC, shows at least three phases of re-use and alterations of the original interior, in use until the Late Imperial period. Three sculptures belonging to the tomb and the decorative features of the exterior (entrance doorkymation) and interior (red, blue and ochre wall paint in the main burial) of the monument are noteworthy. The epigraphic apparatus, drawn in charcoal on the walls of the main burial, is significant both in terms of the form of the letters and its content: one of the two inscriptions appears to give the price of loculi for sale.

Variability of bone preservation in a confined environment: The case of the catacomb of Sts Peter and Marcellinus (Rome, Italy)

Most of the studies investigating the diagenetic trajectory of fossil bones focus on open-air sites and very little work have been published in confined environments such as catacombs. While the stable thermal history of catacombs should favor bone preservation, the accumulation of corpses over a short period of time could favor their destruction. The aim of this study is to describe the diagenetic trajectory of 128 human bone samples coming from six different burial chambers of the catacomb of Sts Peter and Marcellinus (SSPM, Rome, Italy). A multi-proxy approach was undertaken to provide an assessment of the molecular preservation as well as a direct record of the isotopic composition itself. Collagen yield, carbon and nitrogen abundances, C:N ratio, FT-IR based collagen and carbonate contents and crystallinity index, radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis of bone collagen and carbonate indicate that both the mineral and the organic fractions are impacted by diagenesis to various degrees, and that bones originating from the small burial chambers are more affected than those coming from the large ones. While some of the bones were strongly recrystallized, the impact of bone diagenesis on the stable isotope values of bone carbonate was limited. Comparison with contemporary sites from the Latium showed that conditions prevailing in catacombs seem overall to favor, rather than disadvantage bone preservation.

Abstracts for ALA Poe Panels

s for ALA Poe Panels Bonnie Shannon McMullen, Les Harrison, Catherine Q. Forsa The Edgar Allan Poe Review, Volume 15, Number 1, Spring 2014, pp. 127-129 (Article) Published by Penn State University Press For additional information about this article Access provided by your local institution (7 Jun 2017 19:08 GMT) https://muse.jhu.edu/article/542556

Sound and Performance in Public Archaeology: Examining the Benefits of Outdoor Learning with Creative Engagement at the Neolithic Site of Tinkinswood Burial Chamber, Vale of Glamorgan

This paper explores a community archaeology project which took place at Tinkinswood chambered tomb and its surrounding landscape in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The project formed the school outreach element of the Tinkinswood Community Archaeology Project which included the excavation of three particular areas – two possible fallen burial chambers and the possible quarry for the 40-ton capstone used at Tinkinswood. The schools engaged in the project were the two closest primary schools to the sites: St Nicholas and Peterson-Super-Ely, in the Vale of Glamorgan. The children involved were given the chance to explore different ways of experiencing and interacting with the past through music and drama and by working outside of the school environment at Tinkinswood itself. The collection of interviews gathered reveal how the children perceive the Neolithic past, and especially about the way they felt more free, spontaneous, and natural through expressing ideas about the past at Tinkinswood itself, as opposed to being in the classroom. The results suggest that community archaeology can be used to ask big philosophical questions about mortality and religion, providing a new way to approach sensitive topics, without privileging one worldview over another.

ISSLEDOVANIE OBOSOBLENNOY KURGANNOY GRUPPY № 4 NA YuZhNOM UChASTKE PALASA-SYRTSKOGO MOGIL'NIKA IV–V VV

В статье анализируются новые материалы Паласа-сыртского курганного могильника IV–V вв. полученные в 2013 г. при раскопках курганной группы № 4, включавшей 10 курганов. В погребальной обрядности этой группы выявлены новые, нехарактерные для Паласа-сыртского могильника черты – захоронения в катакомбах одноосевого типа и подбоях, примыкание погребальной камеры к южной короткой стенке входной ямы, положение погребённых головой ко входу и их северная ориентировка. Наличие инновационных явлений в погребальном обряде могильника свидетельствует о внедрении в сообщество степных племен Прикаспийского Дагестана новых этнокультурных групп населения. Хронология погребений курганной группы № 4 определена серединой V в. Annotation: In the article there are analyzed new materials of Palassa-sirtssky burial-mound of IV–V cent., received in 2013 during excavations of mound group № 4, including 10 mounds. In the burial rite of this group there were displayed new non-typical features for Palassa-sirtssky burial ground as shaft-and-chamber tombs and recesses, contiguity of burial chamber to southern short wall of entrance hole, a position of buried with a head to entrance and their Northern orientation. The presence of innovative phenomena of the burial rite in a burial ground is an evidence of intrusion into the community of steppe tribes of Prikaspiysky Daghestan of new ethno-cultural groups of people. A chronology of burial mounds group № 4 defined as the middle of V century.

The Suzukteh Mound 22, Mongolia: The Burial Rite

A Xiongnu elite burial mound 22 at Suzukteh, Mongolia, excavated in 2012, is described. Because the wood was exceptionally well preserved, the construction of the burial chamber and coffin can be assessed in detail and, because the mound was excavated by hand, the burial rite can be comprehensively reconstructed. In terms of funerary ritualism this burial does not differ from those previously excavated in Mongolia or Siberia east of Lake Baikal, and demonstrates that the nomadic elite adhered to Chinese traditions. By the beginning of the Common Era, the Xiongnu, apparently with the assistance of the Han people, built rather sophisticated funerary structures. A unique assemblage of artifacts made from organic materials includes Chinese and European silk and wool fabrics, lacquerware, wooden vessels, and highly artistic silver and gold objects.

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

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.

Integrated access to cultural heritage information pieces in Iran over Imam Reza's 4th Zarih (burial chamber) as a sample

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer an example of how ontology, such as CIDOC, can be turned into a format from the perspective of an object. In fact, it illustrates the possible semantic analysis of an object description into a view neutral machine‐interpretable form. The aim is to show that a museum object located in a museum can be described in detail and then related to other information objects located in other memory institutions such as libraries and archives.Design/methodology/approachStudying different documents, all the information about Imam Reza's Zarih 4th was derivated. Then the most important were listed and represented in detail, according to CIDOC CRM entities.FindingsThe figures explicitly reveal the existing semantic correlations between the heterogeneous cultural heritage information in various memory institutions, such as Organization of Libraries, Museums and Documents Centre of Astan Quds Razavi.Originality/valueThe authors capture the knowledge from different resources and relate them in a semantic description with the aid of a semantic conceptual model like CIDOC CRM, to show more effective information integration in a cultural institution such as Organization of Libraries, Museums and Documents Centre of Astan Quds Razavi, in order to provide unified access to collection‐level information.

Dates, Diet, and Dismemberment: Evidence from the Coldrum Megalithic Monument, Kent

We present radiocarbon dates, stable isotope data, and osteological analysis of the remains of a minimum of 17 individuals deposited in the western part of the burial chamber at Coldrum, Kent. This is one of the Medway group of megalithic monuments – sites with shared architectural motifs and no very close parallels elsewhere in Britain – whose location has been seen as important in terms of the origins of Neolithic material culture and practices in Britain. The osteological analysis identified the largest assemblage of cut-marked human bone yet reported from a British early Neolithic chambered tomb; these modifications were probably undertaken as part of burial practices. The stable isotope dataset shows very enrichedδ15N values, the causes of which are not entirely clear, but could include consumption of freshwater fish resources. Bayesian statistical modelling of the radiocarbon dates demonstrates that Coldrum is an early example of a British Neolithic burial monument, though the tomb was perhaps not part of the earliest Neolithic evidence in the Greater Thames Estuary. The site was probably initiated after the first appearance of other early Neolithic regional phenomena including an inhumation burial, early Neolithic pottery and a characteristic early Neolithic post-and-slot structure, and perhaps of Neolithic flint extraction in the Sussex mines. Coldrum is the only site in the Medway monument group to have samples which have been radiocarbon dated, and is important both for regional studies of the early Neolithic and wider narratives of the processes, timing, and tempo of Neolithisation across Britain

Gold coated copper artifacts from the Royal Tombs of Sipán (Huaca Rajada, Perù): manufacturing techniques and corrosion phenomena

Twenty five years ago, close to the northern Peruvian town of Lambayeque (Huaca Rajada) beneath two large and eroded pyramids, built of adobe mud bricks, Professor Alva discovered the world-famous unlooted pre-Columbian burial chambers of the Royal Tombs of Sipan. The tombs contained a large amount of objects of exceptional artistic and historical value including the greatest intact number of gold and silver artefacts in the Americas to be considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the last century. Some copper based objects coated with thin layers of gold have been studied by means of the combined use of analytical techniques such as optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray micro-analysis (SEM-EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) in order to identify the chemical composition and the manufacturing processes of the gold layer as well as the corrosion products formed during the long-term burial. The micro-chemical and structural results give useful information about the manufacturing techniques used by the Moche metalsmiths to modify the surface chemical composition of the coated artefacts likely based on the depletion gilding process carried out by oxidising the surface copper containing the noble metal and etching away the copper oxides. Furthermore, the results reveal that the main degradation agent is the ubiquitous chlorine and that copper has been almost completely transformed during the burial into mineral species giving rise to the formation of stratified structures constituted by different mineral phases such as cuprous oxide (Cu2O) and copper carbonates [azurite (Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 and malachite (CuCO3Cu(OH)2)] as well as dangerous chlorine-based compounds such as nantokite (CuCl) and atacamite (Cu2(OH)3Cl) polymorphs. These information evidence the strict interaction of the alloying elements with the soil components as well as the occurrence of the copper cyclic corrosion as post-burial degradation phenomenon. The present study confirms that the combined use of micro-chemical and micro-structural investigation techniques such as SEM-EDS, XPS, XRD, and OM can be successfully used to investigate the technological manufacturing processes of the ancient coated artefacts and to achieve information about degradation agents and mechanisms useful to define tailored conservation strategies possibly including new, more reliable, and safer materials.

Late Prehispanic Coquina Quarrying and Tomb Construction in Coastal Southern Peru

ABSTRACT We document the quarrying and source of coquina stone used in elite tomb construction at two late prehispanic sites in southern Peru. Excavations document tomb construction that includes coquina slabs for chamber walls, doorway lintel stones, and large slabs used to seal tomb openings. At the Inca site of Tacahuay Tambo, we uncovered two massive coquina slabs covering the opening of an extended familial tomb. Smaller coquina blocks were used to create the burial chamber. At the Late Horizon and earlier fishing village of Pueblo Picata we document a tomb chamber for a single elite individual constructed of large coquina slabs. A short distance from the village area at Pueblo Picata is a marine terrace outcrop with extensive evidence of prehispanic quarrying. Macroscopic petrographic comparisons of geological samples from the marine terrace and a sample of the archaeological tomb contexts indicate that coquina at both sites derive primarily from the Picata quarry while one tomb slab is from an unknown locale. The study indicates that a significant labor investment was needed for the quarrying and transport of coquina slabs. Furthermore, the use of coquina exclusively for elite tomb construction at these sites, and not for domestic or administrative architecture, suggests a strong symbolic association between coquina and mortuary practices. Coquina quarries and coquina use in tombs have not been reported previously for this or other regions of the Central Andean coast.

THE GOLDEN SHRINES OF TUTANKHAMUN AND THEIR INTENDED BURIAL PLACE

The most famous tomb at the Valley of the Kings, KV 62 housed so far the most intact discovery ofroyal funerary treasures belonging to the eighteenth dynasty boy-king Tutankhamun. The tomb has asimple architectural plan clearly prepared for a non- royal burial. However, the hastily death ofTutankhamun at a young age caused his interment in such unusually small tomb. The treasuresdiscovered were immense in number, art finesse and especially in the amount of gold used. Of thesetreasures the largest shrine of four shrines laid in the burial chamber needed to be dismantled andreassembled in the tomb because of its immense size. Clearly the black marks on this shrine helpedin the assembly and especially the orientation in relation to the burial chamber. These marks aretotally incorrect and prove that Tutankhamun was definitely intended to be buried in another tomb.

The Structure and Changing Nature of the Earthen Mounds of Silla Tombs of the Fifth and Sixth Century According to the Location of the Main Burial Chamber - Focusing on the Tombs of the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Nakdong River and Geumho River -

The Structure and Changing Nature of the Earthen Mounds of Silla Tombs of the Fifth and Sixth Century According to the Location of the Main Burial Chamber - Focusing on the Tombs of the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Nakdong River and Geumho River -

Opening a Grave in Antiquity – Formation and Interpretation in the Kingdom of Meroe

During Late Antiquity in the Middle Nile Valley, the cemeteries of the Kingdom of Meroe had their graves visited many times after the first burial took place. Even if robbers left a burial chamber open, it could still be reused soon after for another individual accompanied by a regular funerary ceremony. The term “grave activity” is introduced here to describe any human intervention likely to modify the environment of a tomb. It includes any (re-)opening of the grave related to looting activity or reburial practice. “Grave activity” may affect the structure, the position and presence of one or more bodies as well as the presence (or absence) of funerary deposits. A disturbed grave should be studied by disentangling these activities. This can be achieved with a reconstruction of the chronology and the types of activity as well as the particular consequences of each. While these activities are usually highly confusing to archaeologists, it is shown how a systematic documentation can be used to offer a better understanding and interpretation of Meroitic funerary practices.

Provenance investigations of amber jewelry excavated in Lower Silesia (Poland) and dated back to Early Iron Age

The aim of presented work was to establish the provenance of unique amber jewelry dated back to Early Iron Age discovered in burial chambers of archeological excavations in Domasław, Lower Silesia (Poland). To assess the origin of the archeological amber objects, there was performed a comparative analysis of over 100 artifacts and reference material originated from amber sources within reasonable proximity to the axcavations. Succinite (Baltic amber) from tertiary deposit at the seashore from North Harbor in Gdansk (Poland) and Sambian Penisula, Yantarny near Kaliningrad (Russia) valchovite or/and neudorfite from Valchov in Moravy (Czech Republic) dated back to Upper Cretaceous and amber originating from Lower Silesia (cenoman from Boleslawiec, Poland) were used as a reference material. Raman and positron annihilation spectroscopies have been previously successfully applied in provenance studies of archeological amber jewelry, and both techniques were accepted as a method of choice in current investigation. All Raman measurements of valuable amber objects were performed in situ. Raman spectra collected for analyzed artifacts confirmed their Baltic origin. The study showed that annihilation positron spectroscopy is effective toll in the provenance investigations of raw amber material but can be misleading in analysis of previously processed material. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Examination of the wall paintings in Tutankhamen's Tomb: Inconsistencies in original technology

The collaboration between Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) to conserve the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings provided an opportunity for in-depth investigation of the techniques and original materials of the burial chamber wall paintings. Examination through visual observations, in situ microscopy and ex situ analysis of samples identified discrepancies in setting-out and preliminary procedures and variance in planning and execution from wall to wall. These incongruities can be explained by workshop practice and other constraints, not uncommon in ancient Egyptian tomb execution. However, they additionally support the premise that the early death of the young Pharaoh, and the subsequent adaptation of a pre-existing tomb, had a significant impact on its construction and decoration. Moreover, it is possible that these unique circumstances contributed to particular forms of deterioration, most notably the extensive presence of brown spots on the painting scheme. Reassessing the technical history of the tomb is therefore an essential first step in formulating appropriate approaches to its current conservation.

Anomalous Architecture and Final Statement

Anomalous Architecture and Final Statement Mardith K. Schuetz-Miller (bio) Through many diverse births I have passedSeeking in vain the builder of the house.Ah, house framer, now I have seen thee!Never again shalt thou build me a house.I have broken thy raftersI have destroyed the king-post.My mind is detached;Desire is extinguished. —Coomaraswamy and Nivedita, Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists, 271 Japanese Influence? Previous chapters touched upon buildings atypical relative to their surrounding cityscapes: snail-shaped oracular temples in Peru; and in Colombia circular terraces, rock-cut shaft tombs with burial chambers carved in imitation of houses, and wood structures built with unusual carpentry techniques. This chapter examines other anomalous styles. A Spanish chronicler's observation of the Taironas' use of "curious carpentry" in the construction of the king's dwelling and "three great log cabins" invites the question whether there might be a connection to clay house models from the Bahía culture of the Manabí and Esmeraldas provinces of coastal Ecuador. Through articles published in 1961 and 1962, Emilio Estrada, Betty Meggers, and Clifford Evans brought to the attention of archaeologists their case for contact between the Jomon culture of Japan and the Americas. The earliest proposed contact was the Valdivia culture, which overlapped the Peruvian Formative. The type site, and related ones in Panama and Peru, dates the Valdivia to approximately 2500-1800 BCE. From about 1800 to 500 [End Page 399] BCE, the following Chorrera culture expanded from the coast to the interior following river valleys. Pottery produced during this time is said to be similar to wares from both the Chavín culture of Peru and the Ocós culture of coastal Guatemala and adjacent Mexico. The third chronological period, which is dated from about 200 BCE to 500-700 CE, is called the Regional Developmental. It is characterized by dissimilar cultures, but large populations and advanced sociopolitical integration. The Bahía culture was one of these regional polities.210 Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 36. Left: Haniwa of Yayoi house. (Drawn from a photograph in Haniwa). Right: Clay model of house of the Bahía culture, Ecuador. (Drawn from a photograph in Alfred Kidder II, "Rediscovering America") The Manabí house model is one of several found in Ecuador pertaining to the Bahía culture, The house type with its distinctive roof structure also appears on tomb models produced by the Tumaco culture of Colombia.211 Estrada and Meggers compared the Bahía examples to Han Chinese and Yayoi Japanese tomb models exhibiting unusual roof forms, as well as to actual buildings with "saddle-shaped" roofs from Sumatra, New Guinea, and the Carolines of Micronesia, including the same two I illustrate here as figure 36. "Saddle-shaped" roofs, as they are generally called, should be termed "boat-shaped." They were once prominent as dwellings for the elite throughout Micronesia (including in Yap, Kosrae, the Gilberts, as well as Palau) at the time of initial European contact. They are still constructed as men's houses in Melanesia. They appear to have their origin in a Southeast Asian Dong Son prototype. I am sure all are tied to the [End Page 400] belief that ancestors arrived in boats from the heavenly realm. They serve as the great clan houses on Sumatra and Sulawesi, and in Sumatra and Southeast Asia the elite were sent to the afterworld in boats or boat-shaped coffins. Given the Valdivia-Jomon link of early contact between Japan and northern South America, looking toward a later contact between Yayoi and Tomb period Japan and Bahía is logical. Great advances were made in house construction in Japan's Late Yayoi (ca. 500 BCE-300 CE) and Tomb (ca. 250-552 CE) periods, when Japan came under heavy influence from Han dynasty China. To effect the change, Chinese-trained Korean artisans were recruited, particularly from Paekche, until the kingdom was defeated by the Silla in 663 CE.212 These artisans likely introduced plank, board, and lath construction, regular plans, and use of mats as wall coverings. Two-storied dwellings were erected, and entrances were located not only on the south gable end (note...