Funerary Monuments Research Articles

Керамічний комплекс поховань зрубної культури Північного Приазов’я

The article presents the characteristics of the most frequent category of the funerary inventory of the Zrubna culture (Srubnaya culture, Timber-grave culture) of the Northern Azov Sea region (Late Bronze Age) that is of pottery. The basis of the ceramic complex characterization was morphological indices or functional characteristics of the items. It was determined that crockery underwent certain qualitative transformations in space and time that revealed themselves in the form and proportion of the items, clay recipe, surface processing and ornamentation. Questions of the internal periodization and some special features of ritual – inventory complex are examined. The main source for the study of culture, life and economy of the tribes of the Bronze Age are the material remains, obtained during archaeological investigations of domestic settlements and funerary monuments. Corpus of artifacts include pottery, stone, bone, flint, wood and nonferrous metals. Ceramic vessels within specific cultural and historical formations are differ conservatism. Pottery stands as the most expressive of their external features. The study of ornamentation and forms of a significant number of vessels of Timber-Grave culture allows revealing typological series, features and certain patterns of manufacturing funerary ware. The predominance of plant memorial food in the burials suggests that agriculture played a significant role in the economic balance of the tribes of Timber-Grave culture of Northern Azov. Indirectly, being in one of the female burials of Timber-Grave culture of Northern Azov of some seeds can also testify about it. Some positions the location of ceramic vessels relative to the body of the deceased can be considered «extraordinary» for the burial practices of tribes of Timber-Grave culture of Northern Azov. It should also to consider the presence of ceramic vessels in these positions as a feature, indirectly indicating the belonging of the complex to the earlier chronological horizons. In general, ceramic pottery has undergone some qualitative changes in space and time. These changes are manifested in the form and proportions of vessels, consisting of clay, surface treatment and ornamentation. Ornamental compositions, which are found on ceramic vessels from Timber-Grave culture burials, demonstrate the extraordinary variability, although their diversity is achieved by combining a small number of relatively simple characters.

Случайная находка железного акинака с антенновидным навершием

Weapons have been a special-purpose commodity since ancient times; they were bought, kept and taken to the other world. Finding swords, daggers and knives in funerary monuments allows us to trace not only the chronology, but also cultural and ethnic ties in antiquity. But, unfortunately, as practice shows, the weapons are not always found in an undisturbed state and in closed complexes. A large amount of material of this type are so-called accidental findings. By «accidental findings», the authors mean an archaeological artifact, discovered unintentionally, outside of purposeful searches. Despite the fact that this type of findings was found separately from the monument, and does not give a general understanding of its role in the funeral ritual, the very presence of the akinak on a particular territory is a marker of the distribution area. One of such findings is an akinak with an antenna-shaped pommel and a crosshair broken at a “blunt” angle, which was found near the village of Marinogorka in the East Kazakhstan region. The purpose of this article is to introduce into scientific circulation the found iron akinak, with all measurements, morphological description, with analogies, and etc. The issue concerning the terminology of the name of this type of blade, as well as its distinctive features (pommel, crosshair, handle) is also considered. The akinak refers to a weapon of the “Prokhorov” type, which was distributed over a large territory and dates no earlier than the IV-III centuries BC.

The Inscriptions on the Gravestones in the Croatian Villages of Slovakia, Chunovo and Jarovce: The Specificity of Mixing Graphics Systems

The article discusses the inscriptions on funerary monuments from the Croatian villages of Cunovo and Jarovce, located in the South of Slovakia, near Bratislava. These inscriptions reflect the complicated sociocultural situation in the region, which is particularly specific due to the fact that this territory was included to Slovakia’s territory only after 1946, while earlier the village was part of Hungary. In addition, the local Croatian ethnic group was actively in close contact with the German and Hungarian communities. At the same time, the orthographic norms of the literary Croatian, German, Hungarian, and Slovak languages, which could potentially be owned by the authors of the inscriptions, differ in many ways, despite the Latin alphabet used on all the gravestones. All this is reflected in the tombstones, representing a high degree of mixing codes. The article identifies the main types of fusion on the monuments: separate orthograms, writing the maiden name of the deceased in the spelling of her native language, the traditional spelling of the family name. In addition, the mixing of codes can be associated with writing feminitives, also order of name and surname within the anthroponym. Moreover, the settlements themselves represent different ethnic groups coexistence within the village. Gravestones from the respective cemeteries also differ from each other in the nature of the prevailing trend of the mixing codes. In Jarovce, where the ethnic groups live compactly, fusion is often presented as a separate foreign language orthograms. In Cunovo, where the ethnic groups constitute a global conglomerate, more traditional presents for a specific family spelling of the names on the monument.

Cemetery tourism in southern Spain: an analysis of demand

Purpose – Cemetery tourism is a category of dark tourism that is increasingly gaining ground in Andalusia (southern Spain). This autonomous region is home to several cemeteries that, due to their singular characteristics and funerary monuments, form part of the European Cemeteries Route. Design/Methodology – In this study, a survey was performed on a sample of 532 tourists who engage in dark tourism (Andalusian Cemeteries Route) with the aim of determining a specific consumer profile. Univariate and bivariate analysis was used in order to describe the socioeconomic variables of cemetery tourism. Findings – The results show that this type of tourism primarily attracts young people with university studies who profess to be very satisfied with the route and who would be willing to visit other cemetery routes in various locations. Research originality – The originality of this paper is the identification of the socioeconomic characteristics of cemetery tourism in Southern Spain. The principal shortcomings detected were the lack of knowledge about Andalusian cemeteries among foreign tourists, and the lack of marketing dedicated to promoting the route in Andalusia.

A group of painted funerary monuments from Hellenistic Alexandria in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Examination and scientific analysis have elucidated the well-preserved figural painting on a collection of limestone funerary stelai and loculus slabs from Alexandria, Egypt, dating from the late 4th to 3rd centuries B.C. This paper presents new information about the preparation, design, and technique of these paintings, which display a lead white ground preparation, both incised and black preliminary drawing, and a masterful elaborate multi-layered painting process to build up color. The paintings’ generally bright colorful palette employs a wide range of pigments attested elsewhere in the classical Greek palette, and features, notably, the extensive use of mimetite, a geologically rare yellow lead arsenate mineral, uncommon in Greek and Roman painting and unknown in earlier Pharaonic painting traditions.

Funerary Epigrams of Ancient Greece: Reflections on Literature, Society and Religion by Marta González González

396 PHOENIX of style—have a different status in relation to the inconspicuous and often probably unconsciously used metaphors discussed by Lakoff and Johnson. The appendix on the semantics of Änyow and únyŽv (249–255) is indicative of the book’s methodological soundness: Brockliss argues on the basis of etymology as well as occurrences in Homeric epic that the root únyo/e- originally referred to “flowers” (rather than “surface” or “bursting forth” in general) and that the use of these terms consequently constitutes vegetal imagery. Yet the instances covered here all refer to actual flowers in the narrative, and this section also does not include and discuss metaphorical applications. Ludwig-Maximilians-UniversitÈ at MÈ unchen Fabian Horn Funerary Epigrams of Ancient Greece: Reflections on Literature, Society and Religion. By Marta Gonz alez Gonz alez. London and New York: Bloomsbury. 2019. Pp. ix, 213, 11 figs. This monograph offers a fresh introduction to private funerary verse inscriptions from archaic and classical Greece, making Hansen’s corpus accessible to a wider public.1 The book consists of an introduction and eight chapters, with notes placed after the conclusion, followed by a bibliography and two indices (the first lists the 161 inscriptions quoted and gives a table of concordances between IG or GVI and CEG, while the second is a five-page general index). Chapter One offers a chronological survey of the typologies of funerary monuments. González follows Clairmont’s method of studying gravestone and epigram together, which suits the material perfectly.2 Chapter Two in turn deals with literary aspects of verse inscriptions. Here González’s analysis of the origin of the elegiac couplet not only omits the longest archaic epigrams, but also ignores some important studies on the subject;3 as a result one should not accept without question her observations on the alleged evolution of their length. González also posits a gap in private epigrams between 510 and 440 b.c. due to the preponderance of public monuments commemorating the Persian Wars. This conclusion, however, presupposes that all epigrams for fallen warriors are public and, vice versa, that all public epigrams are for fallen warriors. Yet in that period war seems to be the predominant subject even in private epigrams, while only four, all public, refer to the Persian Wars.4 1 P. A. Hansen, Carmina Epigraphica Graeca (2 vols.; Berlin and New York 1983–89). 2 C. W. Clairmont, Gravestone and Epigram: Greek Memorials from the Archaic and Classical Period (Mainz 1970). 3 Cf. SEG 41.540 (Ambrakia, 530–500 b.c.) and BÉ 2015, n. 306 (Thebes, 530–500 b.c.), respectively five and four elegiac couplets. Recently, another long epigram in distichs, SEG 64.851 (Kaulonia, 480–470 b.c.), was discovered. González does not quote A. Aloni and A. Iannucci, L’elegia greca e l’epigramma: dalle origini al V sec. Con un’appendice sul nuovo Archiloco (Florence 2007). For further bibliography, see M. Tentori Montalto, “Some Notes on Croesus’ Dedication to Amphiaraos at Thebes (BÉ, 2015, n. 306),” ZPE 204 (2017) 1–9, at 2, n. 7. 4 See M. Tentori Montalto, Essere primi per il valore: Gli epigrammi funerari greci su pietra per i caduti in guerra (VII–V sec. a.C.) (Pisa and Rome 2017) for the following epigrams: CEG 79, 107, 112, 114, 118, 142, 170, 637 = 118a (private epigrams); CEG 2, 3, 131 and SEG 56.430 (epigrams on the Persian Wars). GVI 33 may have been composed later. BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS 397 Chapter Three starts by considering two epigrams and their statues. While the connection between statue and base is certain in the case of Phrasikleia’s epigram (CEG 24), the same is not true for the epigram on Kroisos (CEG 27), and yet González accepts it as a given throughout the book.5 She compares Phrasikleia’s epigram with SEG 57.799 (Kos, late sixth century b.c.), which offers the oldest testimony for the expression “bride of Hades.” González prudently rejects the idea that Kroisos belongs to the Alcmaeonid family. Her characterization of the epigram for Kroisos as a “dialogue” with the passerby , is, however, inaccurate, since the latter does...

El ritual de la incineración durante el Bronce Final-Hierro en el conjunto de Beaskinarte (Sierra de Aralar, Gipuzkoa)

This article is about three structures that we discovered and excavated in Beaskinarte (Aralar mountain range, Gipuzkoa). One of them is a cremation tomb with a stele, before which there was a bone deposit. The nearest places to the stele were altered, probably due to attempts during the Middle Ages to check if it was a haustarri –shieling marking stone. Cremated bones (approximately 100 gr) were deposited on a small loculus excavated in the bedrock. Next to the deposit there were found fragment of four ceramic vessels, out of context, two of which present only one fragment. One of the vessels is apparently without any decoration and the other three are decorated (with grooved motives, with triangular excised themes; and with a cordon decorated with fingernail impressions). The recovered charcoals fragments were dated to Late Bronze Age (BP 2770±30). This new cremation tomb is a sign of the possible complexity of the funerary practices of these mountain areas, up to now represented only by the baratze or stone circles, in their different varieties, or the occasionally reuse of previous funerary monuments –cists–. .

Syrian priesthood in the territory of Danube Limes of Moesia superior: Funerary monument dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus and Sea Syria from Glamija

In 1982, during archaeological excavations in the Danube Limes, a funerary stela was found in the locality of Glamija I (in the village of Rtkovo), inside the Roman fortress, dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus and Dea Syria. The dedicant is the priest of the divine couple. The monument from Glamija I represents one of only a few monuments dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus and Dea Syria, particularly since the dedication is made by the priest of the gods. This paper discusses the question and role of Syrian priesthood in the territory of the Danube Limes and the Central Balkan Roman provinces, in the context of the cults of Jupiter Dolichenus and Dea Syria, along with the hypotheses regarding the possible sanctuaries of the deities, their worshippers and the period when their cults existed in the aforementioned territories.

Delimited Funerary Spaces – Hellenistic Tumuli with Stone Enclosures at Kallatis

This article analyzes the practice of delimiting tumuli graves with stone enclosures, mainly in the Classical and Hellenistic cemeteries of Kallatis/ Callatis (Mangalia), a Dorian establishment on the western Black Sea, following the recent exploration of a monumental tumulus ensemble, the Documaci Mound, built at the end of the 4th c. BC-early 3rd c. BC at 3 km west of the ancient city limits. The mound, covering a chamber tomb with semi-cylindrical vault, plastered walls and dromos, was surrounded at its base, measuring around 169 m in circumference, by a stone wall, 1.2 m high and 87 cm thick. After offering a systematic description of the Documaci Mound enclosure wall, the authors take on the occasion to discuss certain funerary architectural developments in the Greek colonies on the western and northern Black Sea shores, related to the use of periboloi and other stone delimitations (stone rings, kerbs, krepidae) during the Classical period, establishing also general connections with the building trends of the early Hellenistic period of erecting imposing funerary monuments in contexts related to enhancement of the individual identity expression in Macedonia and Thrace.

İstanbul Feriköy Latin Katolik Mezarlığında Neoklasik Yapılar

Transformations in the socio-cultural structure of Istanbul that started in the eighteenth century were reflected in the architectural fabric of the city. In the meantime the Ottoman capital witnessed a growing appropriation of foreign architectural features and the emergence of a hybrid stylistic vocabulary. Westernization of the society was accompanied by an intensive building activity during the post-Tanzimat (1839) years, and consequently the rise of new buildings with western façades became the new trend. This study involves an introduction to the Neoclassical style in nineteenth-century Istanbul, focusing on funerary monuments displaying this stylistic vocabulary at the Feriköy Latin Catholic Cemetery. Established in the 1850’s, this cemetery where mostly prominent Levantines and their families are inhumed, is the largest Catholic burial ground in the city. Among a wide variety of styles, there are also a significant number of funerary structures built in the Neoclassical idiom. The analysis covers some of these tombs expounding on the ornamental features reflecting the Classical Revivalist style prevalent in Europe in the nineteenth century.

Nouvelles inscriptions de la nécropole de la Robine à Narbonne

The recent epigraphic discoveries in the necropolis of Robine in Narbonne (Narbo Martius), in the east of the city, are a rare example in this location of funerary inscriptions found either in situ or near their initial location. The set of seven epitaphs is composed of small, homogeneous marble plaques that likely decorated small funerary monuments or altars of necropolis. This unpublished finding dates to between the second quarter of the 1st century and the end of the 2nd century A. D. It shows the use of the necropolis by plebeians of differing legal status and social levels (from seruus to libertus, including the freedman of a freedman and Augustalis), some of whom were likely to have prospered given the riches of the area surrounding Narbonne. In addition, the discovery sheds new light on knowledge of the plebs in Narbonne in the second century, showing that at the time, a group of individuals with unknown sources of wealth were able to acquire beautiful marble funerary plates, buy slaves and thus attain significant standing in the plebeian hierarchy of the city.

Специфика архитектурного решения гробниц Царского некрополя Саламина. О роли погребального обряда, прототипах и параллелях

This article discusses the architecture of the Royal Necropolis at Iron Age Salamis (Cyprus). In search of possible prototypes and parallels to the Salamis tombs, the authors analyze a wide range of funerary monuments including those discovered in Cyprus in recent decades. The specific features of funeral architecture are considered in the context of the formation, existence, and interaction of the Cypriot city-kingdoms. The complicated political and ethno-cultural situation in the region is taken into account as well. It seems probable that creating a kind of universal aristocratic tomb-type, Salaminian elite and builders involved in the process took as a starting point the elements of Mycenaean culture adopted throughout the long history of contacts with the Aegean. The local traditions, contacts with Asia Minor and Levant also played their role. Nevertheless, the rite itself, which has if not the origin then parallels in the Aegean world, seems to be crucial. It determines the parameters, forms and principles of planning decisions.

Δύο ἐνεπίγραφα ἐπιτύμβια μνημεῖα ἀπὸ τὴν ἀρχαία Μόρρυλο

Two unpublished inscribed funerary monuments from Ano Apostoloi (ancient Morrylos) dating to the third century A.D. are presented ιn this article: The first has been erected by a wife in memory of her husband, while the second was planned as a tomb both for already deceased family members including a household slave ( threpte ) and for future burials. The names of the persons mentioned in both inscriptions, for which full commentary is offered, are to be added to those already known from other inscriptions from ancient Morrylos, thus enriching the city’s prosopography.

Looking Sharp. Dutch Bronze Age razors and tweezers in context

Discussions on the presence, nature and apparel of (presumed) European Bronze Age warriors has traditionally focused on weapon graves, armour and rock art – the latter two regrettably absent in the Low Countries. This means that for this area, warrior identities need to be reconstructed on the basis of funerary assemblages that may even lack actual weapons. Since Paul Treherne’s seminal (1995) paper, particularly razors and tweezers have been recognized as reflecting the personal care typical of the warrior life-style. In this paper, Bronze Age and Early Iron Age razors and tweezers from the Netherlands are discussed as part of their wider West-European distribution. Razors of different shapes (pegged, tanged, symmetrical and asymmetrical) can be shown to date to different phases in the period of c. 1600 – 600 BC. Moreover, in variations in handle and blade shape, regional groups and supra-regional contact networks can be identified. Tweezers too show ample diachronic and regional variations: in addition to presumably local types, Nordic and Hallstatt imports are discernible. Razors and tweezers were part of toilet sets that differed in meaning and composition within the time-frame of 1600-600 BC. We argue that the short-hafted awls frequently found in association may represent tattooing needles. In the Hallstatt period, nail-cutters and ear-scoops complement the set (now often suspended from a ring and worn in leather pouches closed with rings or beads).Contextual analysis of the objects shows that razors could be placed in hoards, yet most originate from graves. Several urnfield razors (and some tweezers) originate from funerary monuments that must have stood out for their age, shape or dimensions (e.g. older tombs, long-bed barrows), hinting at a special status for those interred with the toilet sets. Remarkably, the association of razors and tweezers with weapons is infrequent for the Low Countries during most phases of the Bronze Age. Associations with swords are limited to the Ploughrescant-Ommerschans dagger from the famous Ommerschans hoard and the Gündlingen sword from the Oss chieftain’s grave. This means that in the Low Countries, a pars-pro-toto approach to the expression of warrior identity prevailed – one in which the interment of toilet sets instrumental to the expression of warrior identity took precedence over the interment of weaponry.

Waar de doden woonden. De samenhang tussen de locaties van laat-prehistorische urnenvelden en nederzettingen

Where the dead dwelt. The relation between the locations of late prehistoric burial grounds and settlements. This article addresses the question whether there is an association between the choice of locations of urnfields and contemporaneous settlements in the province of Drenthe. For both urnfield and settlement, three factors related to location choice have been tested in a GIS: physical geography (soil type, water table and geomorphology), visibility from the surrounding fields, and the presence of visible funerary monuments from earlier periods, especially megalithic tombs (Dutch: hunebedden) and Bronze Age burial mounds. The results have been compared: both urnfields and settlements show a preference for relatively high locations. Probably, this similarity is related to the requirements of dwelling and agriculture: burial follows habitation. However, in the choice of urnfield location, the proximity of earlier funerary elements was also taken into account. This does indicate a difference between urnfield and settlement location choice, despite the earlier-mentioned similarities between the two.

Some notes on the military equipment illustrated by two 3rd century rider monuments from Dacia Superior

The present paper discusses two funerary monuments from Alba county (Romania) depicting riders. These had been published before, but only summarily, without taking note of the details of military equipment illustrated on them. This is surprising because depictions of soldiers in full battle equipment are very rare in Dacia, not to mention that both monuments were dated to the 3rd century, a period in which such representations are scarce throughout the Empire. Therefore, the traditional art-historical approach to the study of Roman stone monuments will be by-passed and, instead of focusing on the type of monument, elements of style, workshops etc., the study will attempt to discuss at length the riders’ attire and the implications for the study of Roman military equipment.

Guarding the Eagle. Soldier membership in the First Cohort of the legion in a revisited inscription from Potaissa

The reading of the seventh line of the inscription on a funerary monument from Potaissa (CIL III 908) has not been cleared up to this moment. Taking into account the changes in the designation process of the legionary cohorts and centuriae in the 3rd century AD, we propose here a new reading of the abbreviated text. It seems therefore that the soldier, who set the funerary stone for his father and uncle, had served in the first cohort of the legion in the centuria headed by the primus pilus.

Tree Motifs in Seventh-century Silla Steles

Stone steles served multiple purposes in different cultures: as a territorial marker, an edifying tablet, a political edict, a votive altar, a funerary monument, or a celebratory reminder of remarkable individuals or events. Chinese steles carved with images of Buddhist deities are monuments that testify to the process of adoption and adaptation across different cultural traditions. As products of the Buddhist appropriation of non-Buddhist Chinese steles, steles with Buddhist imagery are hybrids. The visual dialogue between two realms—the mortuary and the religious— underwent another twist when Buddhist steles first appeared on the Korean peninsula in the seventh century. The carvings on Korean steles displayed the usual prominent Buddhist deities and the formulaic language of a dedicatory inscription, but were made in the former territory of a defeated kingdom under a new administrative reign. Hence, they tell us about the fluctuating boundary between political entities, the social identity of the donors, and desired destinations of the devotees. Although “set in stone,” they never easily manifest a single fixed reading of the visual messages embedded in them. In order to better understand the paradoxically fluid character of unyielding stone, this article discusses some anomalous elements of these steles. Focusing on a few peculiar examples of steles from 6th century China and 7th century Korea, this article explores the roles of subsidiary motifs, such as trees and pavilions, found across geographic/cultural borders.

Los soldados acechan desde las ventanas. Nuevos testimonios de militares en <em>Clunia</em> (Burgos) = Soldiers Lurk from the Windows. New Testimonies of Roman Soldiers in <em>Clunia</em> (Burgos)

Presentamos dos inscripciones inéditas procedentes de Clunia, conservadas en una casa de Peñalba de Castro (Burgos). Se trata de dos bloques contextualizados, que han sido reutilizados en los muros de una vivienda de dicha bados en un tipo de monumento sepulcral característico de la Clunia romana.This paper presents two new Roman inscriptions coming from Clunia and actually preserved in Peñalba de Castro (Burgos). They are two .descontextualized blocks wich have been reused as wallbricks in a local house. Both of them contains traces of epitaphs belonging to both soldiers and engraved in a pretty common sort of funerary monument of roman Clunia.

Los Inventarios de Doña Juana de Austria, Princesa de Portugal (1535–1573)

The publication a few years ago of a compendium of inventories for leading members of the Habsburg dynasty in the sixteenth century gave an extraordinary insight into the tastes and collecting practices of what was, at this time, the world’s most powerful family (see this Journal, 23 (2011), pp. 193–195). One surprising fact that emerged from the inventories was that the most imaginative and interesting collectors among the Habsburgs turned out not to be the men – certainly not the Emperor Charles V, too preoccupied with his struggles to hold together his vast and unwieldy empire. Instead it was the women, figures such as Charles’s aunt Margaret of Austria (1480–1530) and his sisters Mary of Hungary, Regent of the Netherlands (1505–1558) and Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal (1507–1578), who emerge as real individuals with clearly defined collecting tastes. In this new book, Almudena Pérez de Tudela publishes two inventories for another younger female member of the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs, Charles V and Isabella of Portugal’s youngest daughter Joanna of Austria, Princess of Portugal (1535–1573). Joanna, who had a peripatetic childhood, was at an early age noted for her learning and her accomplishment as a musician. In 1552, at the age of seventeen, she married her cousin John Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and moved to Lisbon. However, after John Manuel’s untimely death just two years later, Joanna returned to Spain where she spent the remainder of her life. After her return, she would never again see her son the future king Sebastian I of Portugal, although they remained in close contact. When Joanna’s brother Philip departed for England in 1554 to marry Mary Tudor, Joanna was appointed regent, carrying out her duties efficiently and with considerable skill. Today, she is best remembered for her founding in 1554 of the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, housed in the palace in which she was born, and the repository for some of the works of art from her collection (some remaining in the convent to this day). Her funerary monument by Pompeo Leoni in the convent, depicting the princess in prayer, exemplifies the strong piety that would guide her in her later decades.