Roman Funerals and Burial

Roman Funerals And Burial

Ancient Roman funerary practices were part of the mos maiorum, "the way of the ancestors" or "tradition," and drew on the beliefs embodied in Roman public and domestic religion.

Socially, funerals were a central and highly visible means of preserving the heritage of a family and gens. The achievements of ancestors were celebrated alongside those of the deceased. The funeral procession was public and elaborate, led by professional mourners, including actors who wore the portrait masks (imagines) of the dead person's notable ancestors. The corpse was carried behind the mourners. A eulogy (laudatio funebris), instrumental music, and songs of mourning (neniae) were also part of the ceremonies. After the funeral, the body was most often cremated in the Classical period, though in some periods inhumation was practiced, becoming more common from the 2nd century AD onward. The ashes were placed in a container and entombed.

Roman cemeteries were located outside the pomerium, the sacred boundary of the city. They were visited regularly with offerings of food and wine, and special observances during religious festivals in honor of the dead. Funeral monuments appear throughout the Roman Empire, and their inscriptions are an important source of information for individuals otherwise unknown and for Roman history. A Roman sarcophagus could be an elaborately crafted art work, decorated with relief sculpture depicting a scene that was allegorical, mythological, or historical, or a scene from everyday life.

Although funerals were primarily a concern of the family, which was of paramount importance in Roman society, those who lacked the support of an extended family usually belonged to guilds or collegia which provided funeral services for members.