Prof. William Van Andringa (Lille University) From fieldwork to a synthesis on funerary practices in Roman Pompeii110 m2 of funerary space, 16.000 artefacts and 100.000 fragments of human bonesNew research on a Roman cemetery of Pompeii
At Pompeii, the excellent state of preservation of the archaeological remains offered the perfect opportunity to examine all the information available about the history of a cemetery and its occupants, the arrangement of the tombs, and the organization of sepulchral space. A meticulous excavation carried out between 2003 and 2007 and a new project which started in 2014 allowed a quite precise reconstruction of the various funerary activities.
Thanks to this excavation, it was possible to demonstrate that a Roman cemetery was one of intensive activity: it was visited, walked in, used in numerous ways, and it was constantly modified and re-organized after one generation even if the funerary areas are declared inviolable by the law.
It’s a fact: the world of the dead, from an archaeological point of view, is as rich and varied as the world of the living. But, clearly Pompeii is far from having delivered all its secrets!