West Pontic Greek Burial Customs in Archaic and Early Classical Times (original) (raw)

“Burial and society in the Greek world during Late Antiquity,” in A. Dolea and L. Lavan, eds., Burial and Memorial in Late Antiquity (Late Antique Archaeology 13; Berlin & Leiden: De Gruyter Brill 2024), pp. 779-810. IN PRESS

A large body of evidence and important historical questions exist for the study of burial in the late antique Greek world. This slowly evolving field has long been influenced by trends in classical archaeology, the archaeology of Early Christianity, and folklore studies. The physical remains of funerary ritual, which have been unevenly studied and published, attest to the forms of interment, tombstones, the treatment of bodies and objects, and the topographic settings of burial. Variation in these remains reflects the expression of different identities, including status, family, profession, ethnicity, and the new Christian perspective on death. Mortuary variability can also be traced across space, both between and especially within regions, and over time from the Roman to Byzantine eras, which reveals a paradigm shift in the concepts and uses of burial in Late Antiquity.