Retiring by the Seaside: A Praetorian from Thrace in Lycian Olympos. With an addendum to TAM II 949 (original) (raw)
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A New Funerary Inscription from Olympos (Lycia) and an Addendum to TAM II 1075
LIBRI, 2021
Abstract: This paper presents two funerary inscriptions found in Olympos, one of which has not been published before (no. 1). The inscription dated to the Ist-IInd centuries A.D. was recorded in 2015, and it belongs to the tomb of Arteimas and his family. Another funerary inscription (no. 2) was published with the number 1075 in TAM II, and we make an addendum to the published inscription. The rest of the inscription belonging to the tomb of Pausanias was noticed in 2015 in the course of a survey and the remaining five lines of this inscription were recorded with the inv. No. 37. Keywords: Olympos, Lycia, Epitaph, Epichoric
‘Royal’ Tombs in Balkan-Anatolian Context. Representations of Status in Phrygian Tumuli
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The present paper examines the 'royal' status displayed by the grave goods found in the tumuli at Gordion. For some time now it has been clear that the so-called Midas Mound is not the tomb of King Midas. If we are not able to assign any of the tombs to a specific name, however, then what can be made of the grave goods and inscriptions found in Phrygian tumuli? Graffiti from the tombs provide recurrent names that might be interpreted as cultic titles. It seems that representations of ritual status were more important than political or historical claims. Or, rather, political messages were rendered in terms of ritual status. The interpretation of some of the bronze objects found in the tombs (belts and fibulae) supports this suggestion. Thus, we can interpret Phrygian tumuli as élite burial monuments, but not all of them can be considered royal. The research situation is comparable with the problems concerning the 4th century BC Thracian tombs. Although some Thracian royal names of that period are known, none of the tombs can be securely assigned to a certain ruler. Again, the deceased was projected in his symbolic and ritual status rather than in his political capacity as a historical ruler. Finally, the author considers Phrygian identities displayed by tumuli outside the Phrygian heartland. They supplement further pieces of evidence for cultural interactions.
How to remain visible: Elite burials in Greece from the 7th to 9th centuries
in: P. di Vingo, Y.A. Marano, & J. Pinar Gil (eds.), Sepolture di prestigio nel bacino Mediterraneo (secoli IV-IX), pp. 515-534, 2021
Prestigio, privilegi e normalità. Archeologia funeraria rurale nel complesso monumentale paleocristiano di Costa Balenae a Riva Ligure. .. .. .. .. .. . Paolo de Vingo La planification du repos éternel dans le Centre-Nord de l'Italie entre le X e et le XI e siècle. Continuité et discontinuité dans les traditions funéraires aristocratiques du haut Moyen Âge .
in A. Dakouri-Hild & M. Boyd (ed), Staging Death: Funerary Performance, Architecture and Landscape in the Aegean, p. 297-314, 2016
"Keywords: continuity, time/space, abandoned places, architecture and sense of place, theatricity, memoryscapes, Argolid, LBA-Iron Age transition" Landscape and memory are closely interwoven factors that contribute to explaining the spatial and cultural location of funerary places. Along with topographic features, the built environment plays a key role in the establishment of cemeteries. This study examines the reuse of abandoned dwellings as burial sites in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Aegean. While intrusive graves were reported in deserted domestic and artisanal structures, this paper instead focuses on the tombs found among the ruins of palatial centres and residences of the elite. In these monumental places, likely perceived as lieux de mémoire, the intrusion of burials may have been an attempt to appropriate symbols of authority and to legitimize power. This paper thus explores the ties linking monumentality, memory, and authority. Graves placed in the uninhabited walls of rulers’ dwellings were dug with a specific purpose that cannot be explained by practical reasons alone, i.e. incorporating the pre-existing walls into the graves’ construction. The interrelationship between the former residences and later cemeteries was spatially specific, and allowed memory and local identity to interact. To regard the spatial relationship between burials and settlements through the binary opposition ‘intra-’ or ‘extramural’ is thus insufficient. The ruined centres of past potentates were conspicuous landmarks that contributed to the theatricality of graves placed within. In this architectural landscape that was witness to a powerful past, funerals and post-funerary rituals were also dramatized. As Joseph Maran observes for the Argolid, the memory of the Mycenaean Palatial Period was stronger in visible and fortified sites, which became the focus of cultural memory as early as the 12th century BC. In times of social and cultural change, without a strong central power, individuals, kinship, or social groups may have asked for the protection of ancestral leaders whose perceived authority was used to legitimize territorial claims. Furthermore, the transformation of ancient rulers’ residential places into burial areas was considered definitive, which excluded their reuse by the living.
Respected and Reused Graves in Greek and Roman Corinth, in Pelargòs 3, 2022, 197-211
Pelargòs 3, 2022
Reused graves have been much discussed in the literature. In the North Cemetery of Corinth there are few cases attested in Greek and Roman times, that have not received the attention they deserved, still presenting many critical points from different points of view. By analysing the general context, it has been possible to identify two different ways to reopen tombs: by completely emptying the previous burial of the skeleton and all objects, or by just moving aside the funeral furniture of the old burial as a form of respect. Moreover, these cases of reused tombs are located within clusters where other tombs were not damaged by subsequent activities, possibly as sign of respect. This paper intends to investigate the relationship between the burials of the Greek phase and the Roman colony of 146 BC, to distinguish some different behaviour and their reflections on the social structure.
The Use of Writing in a Funerary Context in Classical and Hellenistic Thrace
A SOMA 2015 Time, Space and People Proceedings of the 19th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, 2018
This paper brings together known epigraphic evidence from funerary contexts in coastal and inland Thrace dated to the Classical and Hellenistic periods. It presents various types of inscriptions and discusses the main differences in their character. The epigraphic material is divided by the nature of the inscribed object and its role in the funerary rite into the following three groups: inscriptions on grave markers, on grave goods and inside the grave on architectural elements. The analysed material reveals rather diverse approaches to writing and to its use in funeral practice in the coastal and the inland Thrace, evidenced by different spatial patterns for all three groups. The diversity of epigraphic evidence might be explained as a result of a different socio-economic structure in these areas, partially causing the limited cultural exchange between the Greeks settled on the coast and the inland inhabited by the Thracians.
2021
The principle aim of this thesis is to develop a better understanding of social organisation in Greece after the collapse of the palace system c.1190 BCE. This is achieved through a multi-level analysis of burial practices, focussing specifically on the post-palatial cemetery at Perati, burial practices before and after the collapse in the Argolid, and the custom of burial with weapons, from the Shaft Grave period to the post-palatial period in Greece. The main theoretical basis for focussing on burial practices is the argument that social change is reflected and enacted in burial practices, so studying changes in burial practices (including the shift from chamber tombs to simple graves, the change from collective to single burials, the introduction of cremation, and the use of high status grave goods) has the potential to inform us about the nature of social change. This basic premise is challenged in the course of the thesis, when it is shown that burial practices in Attica change...
New Inscriptions from Olympos (Lykia)
LIBRI , 2024
This article presents four new inscriptions recorded during the 2024 excavation season in Olympos: 1) The Tomb of Epiktesis and his Family 2) The Tomb of Midas and his Family 3) The Tomb of Zosimos and his Family, and 4) The Tomb of a person(s), whose name(s) is/are unknown. These four tomb inscriptions were uncovered and documented in the area known as the North Necropolis of the city. The first inscription is not in situ; however, since it was found within the North Necropolis, it is thought not to have come from a distant location and probably belongs to this area. Each inscription has been assessed individually within its context. In addition to these assessments, this article provides a brief explanation of the burial penalties commonly found in the tomb inscriptions of Olympos and includes information concerning where these fines were paid to and the amounts involved. Keywords: Olympos, Lycia, Funerary Inscriptions, Tomb Raiding Penalties