The Body in the Ditch: Alternative Funerary Practices on the Northern Frontier of the Roman Empire?. (November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Buck, Trudi; Greene, Elizabeth M.; Meyer, Alexander; Barlow, Victoria; Graham, Eleanor
• Is Part Of: Britannia. Volume 50(2019)
• Page Start: 203
• Page End: 224
• Publication Date: 2019-11
• Subjects: Vindolanda, -- Stanegate, -- alternative funerary practice, -- forensic taphonomy, -- ancient DNA, -- Roman army; Great Britain -- History -- Roman period, 55 B.C.-449 A.D -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Antiquities, Roman -- Periodicals; Romans -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 936.10305
• DOI: 10.1017/S0068113X1900014X
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0068-113X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Disarticulated human remains were recovered from a first-century fort ditch at Vindolanda on the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire. Ancient DNA analysis revealed the skeleton to be that of a male individual and forensic taphonomic analysis suggested a primary deposition of the body in a waterlogged environment with no obvious evidence of formal burial. Occurrences of disarticulated human remains outside a cemetery context are often overlooked in Roman bioarchaeology. This discovery adds to the growing body of literature regarding alternative funerary practice in the Empire, highlighting that the concept of burial and disposal of the dead is more complex than ancient historical sources suggest. Details of the DNA analysis are provided in the Supplementary Material available athttps://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X1900014X .