Précédent Suivant

Integrated analysis of a complex funerary area: the case of the Late Antiquity cemetery of Canusium (Lamapopoli locality, Canosa, Apulia)—abridged version

p. 99-117

Résumés

In the ancient town of Canusium (locality Lamapopoli), in the central-northern part of Apulia, there is a vast cemetery complex. It comprises familiar and collective hypogea and catacombs, dug at different heights into the rocky hillslope that characterizes the site, and a sub divo necropolis. The cemetery was in use between the 2nd and 6th centuries AC, although the hypogea were only built and used from the middle of the 4th century to the 6th. To date, we know of 14 distinct hypogea with separate entrances, differing in area and planimetric distribution. The epigraphic and iconographic documentation found attests to use of the catacomb complex by the town’s Christian community.

Un vaste et complexe cimetière a été mis au jour dans le suburbium de Canusium, ville antique du centre-nord des Pouilles, au lieu-dit Lamapopoli. Il présente la coexistence d’un ensemble funéraire souterrain (catacombes et hypogées) creusé à différentes altitudes sur le front de la crête rocheuse qui caractérise le site, et d’une nécropole de plein air qui occupe la plaine en contrebas.

La fréquentation funéraire de l’ensemble du cimetière remonte à l’Antiquité romaine et tardive, du iie au vie s.; en revanche, l’excavation et l’utilisation de l’hypogée sont limitées à la période comprise entre la moitié du ive et le vie s. À l’heure actuelle, au moins 14 ensembles funéraires souterrains indépendants sont connus, avec des entrées indépendantes et différentes en termes d’extension et de de distribution planimétrique.

La documentation épigraphique et iconographique atteste de la fréquentation et de l’utilisation du complexe des catacombes par la communauté chrétienne de la ville.

Entrées d’index

Mots-clés : Antiquité tardive, Pouilles, hypogées, catacombes

Keywords : Late antiquity, Apulia, hypogea, catacombs

Note de l’éditeur

This article is not a translation but an abridged version of the French article “Analyse intégrative d'un espace funéraire complexe : le cas du cimetière de l'Antiquité tardive de Canusium (Lieu-dit Lamapopoli, Canosa, Pouilles)”. Translated and edited by Cadenza Academic Translations.


Texte intégral

1Following the creation of the province of Apulia and Calabria under Diocletian, the town of Canusium, in north-central Apulia, acquired an important role and became, from the second half of the 4th century CE, the province’s principal town.

2Outside its walls, the town had a vast, interconnected funerary area comprising, first, several hypogea dug at different heights into the face of the rocky slope that characterizes the Lamapopoli site, and, second, an open-air necropolis located on the plain below.

3The funerary space on the plain was characterized, in the part visible today, by monuments and sarcophagi that were set up from the 2nd century onwards along the secondary road network linked to the Via Traiana, which passed nearby (fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Canosa (Lamapopoli): georeferenced map; open-air necropolis in blue, catacomb complex in green, red, and beige. The dotted black line marks the route of the Via Traiana.

Image

Produced by M.N. Labarbuta.

4The construction of catacombs intensified between the 4th and 6th centuries, reflecting the major role played by Canusium and its diocese. This exponentially increased the forms of occupation of the funerary space, giving rise to a veritable “integrated burial system.”

5As a funerary space that saw heavy use over a long period, the Lamapopoli site offers the opportunity to observe both continuity and discontinuity between Early Roman Empire and Late Antiquity.

6To date, we know of at least 14 distinct underground funerary complexes, with separate entrances, the majority of which are currently blocked.

7Following research carried out in 2004 and 2006 by the University of Bari, in 2016 the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology began a project of systematic archaeological excavations, including a gradual restoration of the whole catacomb complex.

8The various underground funerary complexes known to date are dug at a short distance from each other, along the small plateaus that open up at different heights on the rocky slope. They follow the morphology of the substratum, and are sometimes located on overlapping or adjacent but noncommunicating levels.

9The open-air funerary space continued to be used during Late Antiquity. Its layout was partially modified and the capacity of several of the monuments was increased, although not by much. The funerary monuments opened onto parallel dirt paths that connected to the principal road network. These paths must also have led to the entrances of the underground funerary spaces arranged on different ground levels, thus exploiting an opportunely anthropized natural system of terraces.

10To give an idea of the capacity of the funerary area on the plain compared to the catacomb complex, we are currently aware of 35 burials on the plain and 220 burials in the underground structures.

11The underground funerary spaces, which can be dated to between the middle of the 4th century and the 6th century thanks to the mention of consuls in some of the inscriptions, differ in terms of size, planimetric distribution, and the social status of the occupant. There are some veritable catacombs, designed for collective use and comprising a series of communicating galleries, with vast cubicula, high, vaulted ceilings, and a certain preference for tombs in a loculus as opposed to an arcosolium. The hypogea, meanwhile, are characterized by more modest layouts and a limited number of burials, almost exclusively in arcosolia and masonry box tombs. They can, therefore, be assumed to belong to a family group or at least to a relatively small number of people (fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Canosa (Lamapopoli): hypogea F and H, 3D restitution (produced by G. De Felice) and composite maps.

Image

Produced by M. Campese; De Santis and De Felice 2021, fig. 17.

12The epigraphic and iconographic evidence attests to use of the catacomb complex by the town’s Christian community, as shown by the choice of “symbols of identity” and specific templates.

13The data relating to the choice of identity markers and ritual practices must be integrated and compared with the written material found within the tombs themselves and interpreted in light of the archaeo-anthropological and bioarchaeological analyses.

14The archaeo-anthropological excavation of the burials revealed specific funerary practices, both in terms of tomb occupation and ritual behaviour. Of the burials discovered in the catacomb complex (222 in total), a considerable number have been looted and emptied, either in Antiquity or more recently. In contrast, around 132 are totally or partially intact; 62 burials have been excavated since 2004, 17 of which were excavated during the most recent season.

15One aspect that has emerged clearly from the excavation and taphonomic analysis of the burials is that tombs were used intensively for multiple inhumations. Some tombs were occupied by as many as 18 individuals of all ages, with repeated reopenings of the burial receptacle for individual, multiple, and collective inhumations.

16Evidence was found of systematic superposition of bodies; in some cases, individuals had not yet undergone complete skeletonization when the second body was deposited, which indicates short chronological intervals between inhumations. There are also instances of reduction of the oldest skeletons, which were moved to the sides of the tomb to make space for new inhumations.

17The ongoing bioanthropological analyses will ultimately make it possible to determine whether there was any biological relationship between groups of various sizes within a single tomb. This will help to identify the reasons behind this form of occupation and to define some of its parameters.

18The skeletal remains are currently being studied at the Museum of Civilizations, in Rome. All the excavated and studied tombs are from hypogea F, G, and H; these hypogea have not yet been completely excavated. Anthropological analysis has been carried out on a total of 13 burials containing skeletal remains belonging to 85 individuals.

19As for the tombs, they vary both in terms of the number of burials and the age-sex composition of occupants.

20All the tombs have multiple occupants, ranging from three to 10 individuals. The exception to this is tomb 23 in hypogeum G, which contained remains attributable to at least 17 individuals.

21Regarding the age-sex distribution of the sample group, although the data are preliminary and not yet fully interpretable in demographic terms, they reveal some interesting initial information. There is an immediately apparent difference in the demographic profile of the two sexes among adults: for men, mortality was highest in the 40–50 years age group, while for women it was highest in the 20–30 years age group.

22Regarding the paleopathological aspects of the sample, and specifically oral pathologies, there were high levels of caries and ante mortem tooth loss, with a rate of 75% in the 20–40 years age group and 81,3% for individuals over 40. Enamel hypoplasia, an indicator of metabolic stress during infancy, was present in 52% of cases. More specific paleopathological signs included two cases of rickets in children, two cases of residual rickets in young adults, and one case of ankylosing vertebral hyperostosis (also known as Forestier disease) in a male aged over 40.

23In conclusion, the Lamapopoli cemetery at Canusium reveals various aspects and avenues for general reflection. We are dealing with a multi-stratified site where changes in the concept and representation of death from the Roman period to Late Antiquity influenced the transformation of the funerary space. The site studied was the town’s cemetery for several centuries and can thus reveal elements of continuity and discontinuity, both in how the cemetery was organized and in how the Christian community that used it expressed its identity. Burial typologies, decorative features, and funerary practices all reflect the economic status of occupants, which can also be detected in the different construction techniques and specialization levels of the craftsmen.

Bibliographie

Carletti, Nuzzo, De Santis 2006-2007 Carletti C., Nuzzo D., De Santis P., Il complesso cimiteriale di Ponte della Lama (Canosa): nuove acquisizioni dagli scavi delle catacombe e dell’area subdiale, in RPAA 79, p. 205-290.

De Santis 2017 De Santis P., Il complesso catacombale di Canusium tardoantica. Nuovi dati dagli ipogei F e G (indagini 2016-17), in RAC 93, p. 97-134.

De Santis 2018 De Santis P., Una nuova iscrizione dal complesso cimiteriale di Lamapopoli a Canosa di Puglia: la testimonianza di un anonimo artifex?, in VetChr 55, p. 135-146.

De Santis 2019 De Santis P., Una nuova pittura dal complesso cimiteriale di Canosa di Puglia (loc. Lamapopoli). Note preliminari, in RAC 95, p. 141-160.

De Santis 2020 De Santis P., L’ipogeo H nel complesso catacombale di Canosa di Puglia alla luce delle recenti indagini (2018-2019). Dati preliminari, in RAC 96, p. 91-115.

De Santis, Polito 2017 De Santis P., Polito V., I nuclei ipogei del complesso cimiteriale in località Lamapopoli a Canosa di Puglia. Conoscenza, conservazione, tutela, in VetChr 54, p. 257-284.

De Santis, Polito 2020 De Santis P., Polito V., Tituli picti: Testimonianze epigrafiche dipinte dal complesso cimiteriale di Lamapopoli a Canosa di Puglia alla luce di recenti acquisizioni (ipogei F e G), in VetChr 57, p. 107-129.

Précédent Suivant

Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence Licence OpenEdition Books. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.