maximus otter
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In spring 2019, researchers from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) found evidence of ancient tombs on the Corsica. Now, archaeologists have discovered a necropolis containing around 40 burials dated to between the third and sixth centuries A.D.
Scholars began excavating a pair of 6,458-square-foot sites in the center of Île Rousse, a village on the western coast of the island, in late February. They uncovered ceramic fragments and bones, many of which were interred in imported amphorae, or jars used mainly for transporting wine and olive oil.
:focal(384x365:385x366)/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/5a/59/5a596f48-b491-43f6-8a29-81a27c8a8b83/jar.jpg)
Île Rousse’s ancient inhabitants buried their dead in a variety of ways: Some of the tombs were cut directly into rock, while others were outfitted with terracotta materials, such as flat Roman tiles known as tegulae and rounded roofing tiles called imbrices. The majority of the remains were placed in amphorae scattered across the two sites. Per the statement, one individual was actually entombed in a set of nested amphorae.
Though evidence of such funerary rituals appears regularly in the archaeological record, scholars remain unsure of the practice’s purpose. As INRAP points out, amphora burials were typically reserved for infants and children, but the Île Rousse necropolis contains multiple adults who were laid to rest in the large, cylindrical vessels.
Ancient craftspeople probably manufactured the amphorae in Africa. Between the fourth and seventh centuries A.D., Corsica’s inhabitants imported amphorae containing wine, olive oil and brine from Carthage, a city in what is now Tunisia.
/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/83/51/835156a1-7f71-454d-931a-df92ebf6f67f/dscf5303.png)
INRAP researchers are still determining the ages of the skeletons, which they say are in an “average state” of preservation, per RFI. No funerary offerings or goods were found buried alongside the deceased.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...-year-old-skeletons-buried-in-jars-180977508/
maximus otter
Scholars began excavating a pair of 6,458-square-foot sites in the center of Île Rousse, a village on the western coast of the island, in late February. They uncovered ceramic fragments and bones, many of which were interred in imported amphorae, or jars used mainly for transporting wine and olive oil.
Île Rousse’s ancient inhabitants buried their dead in a variety of ways: Some of the tombs were cut directly into rock, while others were outfitted with terracotta materials, such as flat Roman tiles known as tegulae and rounded roofing tiles called imbrices. The majority of the remains were placed in amphorae scattered across the two sites. Per the statement, one individual was actually entombed in a set of nested amphorae.
Though evidence of such funerary rituals appears regularly in the archaeological record, scholars remain unsure of the practice’s purpose. As INRAP points out, amphora burials were typically reserved for infants and children, but the Île Rousse necropolis contains multiple adults who were laid to rest in the large, cylindrical vessels.
Ancient craftspeople probably manufactured the amphorae in Africa. Between the fourth and seventh centuries A.D., Corsica’s inhabitants imported amphorae containing wine, olive oil and brine from Carthage, a city in what is now Tunisia.
INRAP researchers are still determining the ages of the skeletons, which they say are in an “average state” of preservation, per RFI. No funerary offerings or goods were found buried alongside the deceased.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...-year-old-skeletons-buried-in-jars-180977508/
maximus otter
