Archaeological Museum of Patra
Marble sarcophagus of attic type. On the long side is depicted a hunting scene. Two riders attack a lion and a lioness. The other long side is decorated with griffins and the short ones with Sphinxes. The scenes are related with eschatological beliefs. It was displayed in the area of the Roman Odeon.
Patras, Roman Period (150-175 A.D)
Entombment in this type of sarcophagi is rare, but well-preserved through time. A more common type of burial in the Roman period was within cinerary urns after the deceased had been cremated. Of particular interest are these cinerary urns imported from Italy:
The cinerary urns from the ancient cemeteries of Patras mostly date from Roman times. Clay and subsequent glass vessels were commonly usued for collecting ashes, while rectangular marble containers (cists) were used for the wealthy. These bear the quadrangular panel and relief decoration with symbols related to death and the afterlife. These objects were imported from Italy and since they date from the 1st cent. A.D. , they are believed to belong to the generation of Roman veterans who had not yet been Hellenized and kept the customs of their land of origin.
Cremation was an expensive custom, not seen frequently in the region before the Classical period, with the exception of some cases during the Bronze Age, but it became quite common during the Roman period.
Cremation demanded the opening of a deep, spacious trench in the ground, where the pyre was prepared with wood and branches. The deceased was laid on top of the pyre often in their coffin. On the pyre or around it were placed offerings. After the cremation process the remains were either left inside the trench and buried, or they were collected and stored in cinerary urns.
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Recognize my worth, before I end up in one of these*, and donate a little something for this blogger / photographer:
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If I were a burial what would I be? Would I be in a cist grave? Would I be in an elaborate sarcophagus? Would I be just dumped under a mound of rocks? Would they inter me in pot, or simply cover me with a couple of roof tiles? Or would end up in the tight confines of a cinerary urn?
