PIECES OF ROMAN FUNERAL BED
Roman Culture
PIECES OF ROMAN FUNERAL BED
Carved bone.
Height: 5.8 cm. Average width: 2.5 cm.
Height: 14.4 cm. Average width: 3 cm.
Height: 14.6 cm. Average width: 5.1 cm.
Height: 5.3 cm. Average width: 3.7 cm.
Roman period. 1st century BC - 1st century AD
Origin
Necropolis in Mesas de Asta. Jerez de la Frontera. Cádiz.
Description
Collection of small bone fragments with decoration in relief. Two of these display entire bodily figures that depict classical myths linked to the world of the dead, perhaps Dionysus/Bacchus and Heracles/Hercules. They must have been part of the bone covering of a funeral bed, upon which the dead person was moved and displayed during the funeral service. This funeral cortege was an essential part of a long and complex burial ritual that lasted nine days. Furthermore, during the cremation ritual these beds were used as the support upon which the body was placed on the funeral pyre. This explains the deformations on the fragments conserved, as they show clear evidence of exposure to fire.
Bibliography
- González Rodríguez, R. y Ruiz Mata, D. (1999): "Prehistoria e Historia antigua de Jerez". Historia de Jerez de la Frontera. Vol I(Coord. Caro, D.). Diputación de Cádiz. p. 125.
