Les nécropoles antiques périurbaines dans le Vaucluse

During Antiquity, it was forbidden to bury the dead within city limits. Burials were grouped together in necropolises ("cities of the dead"), located beyond the boundaries of urban areas, along the most frequented roads, so as to perpetuate the memory of the deceased in the minds of passersby. The most renowned and wealthy individuals purchased land bordering the main thoroughfares and closest to the cities, on which they had tombs built during their lifetime, sometimes monumental in scale, for themselves and their close relatives, intended to collect and preserve their ashes after lavish cremation ceremonies. Less wealthy citizens, on the other hand, were cremated more discreetly in a communal cremation ground, where their ashes were then buried along with a few offerings. The Roman cities of Vaucluse have thus yielded more or less eloquent remains of these peri-urban necropolises. This conference provides an opportunity to recall these characteristic rites of Antiquity, and to illustrate how they unfolded.

By Jean-Marc Mignon (Archaeologist, Vaucluse Departmental Archaeology Service).

Free – reservation required.