Archival Abbreviations
ACS = Archivio Centrale di Stato
ASC = Archivio Storico Capitolino
ASSC = Archivio Storico Sovrintendenza Capitolina
GFN = Gabinetto Fotografico Nazionale
SITAR = Sistema Informativo Territoriale Archeologico di Roma

1. The funerary areas of the Via Ostiensis

1Between its first and third miles, the Via Ostiensis was flanked by large and expansive burial areas. Today, only a few remnants of what once was remain visible due to intense urbanization during the 20th century (Marcelli 2011, 2012; Marcelli et al. 2021). In this stretch of land between the Gate and the beginning of Via Laurentina, there are visible funerary areas along this road that the road runs a straight north-south course. The river once ran closer to the road than it does today (fig. 1). The river plain frequently flooded until relatively recently, which caused a progressive raising of the soil over time and became more prominent at the end of the ancient age and the cessation of the maintenance of that river bed (Marcelli, Pannuzi 2020).

Fig. 1. The first section of the Via Ostiensis in a map by É. Dupérac, ed. A. Lafrery 1557, detail.

2The necropolis’s oldest tombs (from the late Republican to the early Imperial age) were located near the main road, along the minor road system. These tombs are largely mausoleums, family tombs and columbaria, from which numerous funerary inscriptions come. In addition to the famous pyramid-shaped sepulcher of Gaius Cestius (1st century BCE), which has been preserved because it was incorporated into the defensive Aurelian Wall, the remains of two monumental tombs from the Via Ostiensis necropolis still were visible at the beginning of the 20th century: a brick tomb of the freedmen of the gens Claudia,1 discovered in 1888 near the railway line, and the base of a mausoleum in the Vigna Fajella, which was destroyed for the construction of the General Markets in 1912 (fig. 2). In this first phase, the most common type of tombs are burial chambers intended to house the cremated remains of families or groups of people (columbaria).2

Fig. 2. The northern section of the Via Ostiensis in the F.U.R by Rodolfo Lanciani.

3The favored method of burial transitioned from cremation to inhumation during the middle of the 2nd century CE. At this time, the appearence of the Via Ostiensis Necropolis changed too. Many of the tombs built for housing cremations from the previous phase of the necropolis were transformed to accommodate the new burials. There are several instances in the necropolis of both cremations and inhumations within the same tomb, signaling a reverence for the dead from prior generations while functionally making use of the same space. With this transition to inhumation, new types of more articulated funerary structures arose, including structures such as formae, arcosolia and various types of sarcophagi.

4Generally, the older tombs in the necropolis were abandoned between the end of the 2nd century CE into the middle of the 3rd century. The older tombs fell into disuse and became covered by a thick blanket of fluvial sediments, then became occupied by an extensive necropolis of pit tombs and capuchin tombs that intensified with the construction of the Aurelian Wall (270-275 CE) and the consequent exclusion of this sector from the city. This phenomenon affected both funerary buildings and those built for other purposes, such as river and rustic villas.3 In this period, any organization and regulation of the funerary spaces seemed to fail, as did any compliance with rules prohibiting the damage, demolition, and alienation of tombs.4

5This situation can be found in the funerary area excavated in 2006-2007 near the Centrale Montemartini. This excavation revealed a prolonged use of the funerary area from the 1st century BCE through the 3rd century CE.5 From this excavation, two interesting and important tombs emerged, the oldest of which is a columbarium from the Julio-Claudian age. This tomb, constructed in opus reticulatum, contains a black and white mosaic floor depicting a turreted wall along the edge and figures of marine animals, felines, and an amphora. This mosaic perhaps references the owner's mercantile activity, maybe navicularius. The ollae were later reused as ossuaries, while pit burials were dug into the floor. The excavation also revealed a second brick tomb dating to the 2nd century CE, which housed burials in formae and arcosolia (fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Archaeological excavation by Via Ostiensis, 118.

6The same fate befell other columbaria that gravitated on the road’s axis leading towards the Tiber, such as those found at the Ponte dell’Industria, a short distance from the river.6 Here, too, the tombs of the early imperial age became submerged by sediment layers due to repeated river floods, and were ultimately invaded by pit burials from the end of the second and third centuries CE.

7The most important and best-preserved sector of the necropolis (and the focus of this project’s study) is that of the so-called Sepolcreto of the Via Ostiensis, an intact and fenced-in funerary area that is approximately 400 meters long on the eastern side of the road between the first and second miles. This area consists of a dense network of tombs of various types, from the late Republican age to the late Empire. It is especially interesting because its inhabitants saturated almost every empty space possible and it clearly illustrates the transition from the ritual of cremation to that of the burial during the 2nd century CE (fig. 4).

Fig. 4. Via Ostiensis Necropolis.

8Starting in 1918, the Regia Soprintendenza ai Musei ed agli Scavi della Provincia di Roma, under the direction of Giuseppe Lugli, systematically excavated this area of the necropolis.7 The team surveyed the area behind the Basilica of San Paolo between the course of the Via Ostiensis and a tuff hill known as the Rupe di San Paolo. The excavations occurred from north to south, bringing to light a particularly intact and rich context both for the types of funerary structures present as well as their decorative elements, their inscriptions, and for the types of grave goods present. At the time of the 1918 excavations, the floor was considerably higher than it is today. This difference can be seen in the panoramic images of the time, where structures are hiding from view, and was the subject of a considerable number of excavations (fig. 5).

Fig. 5. The Via Ostiensis Necropolis during the excavation.

9Little is known of the Republican phases of this area of the necropolis. Only part of a chamber tomb made of tuff blocks remains today. However, this area led to an intensive period of development during the early imperial age. From what is known, this intensive building period seems only to affect the sector to the east of the Via Ostiensis, even though we have little information about the area between the street and the river and even though, in other cases, the presence of tombs on the western side of the street is attested. The tombs from this period exhibit the exclusive use of cremation throughout the first and most of the second centuries CE.

10The most frequent tomb type are small columbaria intended for family use. These columbaria are often flanked by small monuments in the forms of aediculae, altars, or simple funerary boundary stones called cippi. Although the epigraphic data from these structures suggest a population primarily from the lower-middle class, often including slaves and freedmen, and of Greek origin, there is a sizeable amount of refined decorative elements and imported luxury artifacts present.

11This area of the necropolis continued to be used by the population with the passage of time and through transitions of the preferred burial method (i.e. cremation to inhumation). The spaces within the necropolis adapted to meet its population’s new needs. For example, empty spaces became arcosolia and formae style tombs (fig. 6), while some older buildings were transformed to house the new burials. Simple earthen pits, sometimes covered with tiles (so-called tombe a cappuccina), and clay crates invaded the interior spaces of the tombs, probably starting from the third century CE.

Fig. 6. Via Ostiensis Necropolis. Arcosolia tomb during the excavation.

12In 1932, there was a need to further widen the street and align it in correspondence with a cliff, which led to the discovery of further tombs, some of which had already been partially seen in previous excavations (fig. 7) (Marcelli, Cicone 2020; Marcelli et al. 2021). The sector closest to Via delle Sette Chiese was again subjected to total demolition, while a substantial nucleus was preserved behind the basilica. Some of these buildings are articulated around a vast open space, perhaps an abandoned tuff quarry, partly turning its back to the Via Ostiensis.

Fig. 7. Tombs on the Rupe di S. Paolo.

13In this sector we find the usual mix of small columbaria, temple-style tombs, and subsequent funerary buildings with inhumation burials in formae or arcosolia. The tombs lean directly on the tuff bank and take advantage of the natural slope of the hill and the prominent plain, which exceeds 16 meters above sea level. This is significantly higher than that of the ancient road, which was likely between 8 and 9 meters above sea level, while the Sepolcreto Lugli stood at about 9.6 meters above sea level.

14In February 1953, the collapse of one of the tombs’ walls along the cliff revealed the interior of its chamber. The tomb, on three sides, holds numerous arcosolia under which there are inhumations in superimposed formae. Stamps in the tiles separating the burials date between the end of the second and the third century CE. What is particularly interesting about this discovery is the extent of the paintings on the arcosolia, with particular emphasis on a central painting of Prometheus, creating man in the presence of Athena. This painting is now on view at the Museum of the Via Ostiensis (Floriani Squarciapino 1953-1955; fig. 8).

Fig. 8. Painted arch from the Rupe di S. Paolo at the Museo della Via Ostiense in Rome.

15Another group of tombs was found in 1936-37 during the construction of AGIP laboratories beyond the basilica of San Paolo.8 Some of these structures had mosaic floors made from black and white tiles, including one with geometric designs and one with a kantharos motif. One of the tombs, which is particularly well preserved, had brick walls. On one of these walls there was an arcosolium with a clay chest and a mosaic floor depicting of Europa on the bull.

16Another sector of the necropolis extended further south, near the ditch of Grottaperfetta. Here at today's Via Silvio d’Amico, there is an interesting cemetery located along a byway of the Ostiensis, dating to the end of the first and the middle of the 3rd century CE.9 Here there are tombs that used cremation burial in its most ancient phase (columbaria), chamber tombs using a mixture of cremation and inhumation (tombs with niches and arcosolia), and inhumation-only tombs in the last period. Some tombs, the typologies of which share a considerable affinity with those of the area of the Via Ostiensis Necropolis where this project’s studies occur, retain various decorative elements, such as remains of stuccos, frescoes, and mosaic floors. The mosaic floors arguably present the most interesting points of emphasis. One particularly interesting mosaic depicts a grape harvest scene (tomb F, 3rd century CE), while two others depict animals, a bust of Helios, and personifications of the Seasons (from communicating tombs N and W, also from the 3rd century CE). In this area there is also a catacomb, which was settled in the 3rd century CE in the spaces of an abandoned quarry, and was renovated in the 4th century CE following the deposition of the martyr Thecla with the construction of an underground basilica decorated with wall paintings (Bisconti, Ferri 2018: 197-203).

2. The Christianization of the area: the cult of St. Paul

17Based on later sources,10 it has traditionally been believed that the Apostle Paul was beheaded at a place called “ad aquas Salvias” on the Via Laurentina, then subsequently buried in a land owned by the Roman matron Lucina on the second mile of the Via Ostiensis. Thanks to a recent reassessment of the sources11 and iconographies of this account 12, scholars have proposed that both the martyrdom and burial of Paul actually took place at the Via Ostiensis (Braconi 2012: 46-48). Because of this historical connection to Paul, it seems that the Via Ostiensis became the center of attraction both for the cult of Paul and for the burials of numerous Christian martyrs.

18According to the priest Gaius, in the 2nd century CE there was a tropaion for the Apostle Paul on the Via Ostiensis like the one for Peter in the Ager Vaticanus. It was likely a monumental aedicula built over his tomb 13. The stories of these two martyrs made this place a destination for pilgrimages, attracting “myriads of souls who flocked from all over the Roman Empire to the glorious tomb of Peter and that of Paul”.14 At the beginning of the 4th century, the emperor Constantine built a first martyrial basilica on the tomb of Paul based on inspiration from Pope Sylvester. Between 386 and 390, emperors Valentinian II, Theodosius and Arcadius rebuilt this structure in more monumental forms and with the entrance facing the river (Filippi, Docci 2012: 615-625; Bisconti, Ferri 2020: 107-110; fig. 9).

Fig. 9. The Basilica of Saint Paul before it was destroyed during the fire in 1823, in a print by Giuseppe Tiburzio Vergelli, 1688.

19A disastrous fire in 1823 called for reconstruction work on the basilica of St. Paul. Despite the misfortune of the fire, it provided an opportunity to carry out some archaeological investigations. These excavations, which were carried out by Virginio Vespignani in 1838, resulted in the discovery of at least 13 Roman tombs at a depth of about 2 meters under the main altar behind the apse of the Constantinian basilica. Among these was a brick and reticulated tomb that is attributed to the Apostle Paul based on a dedicatory inscription.15 The remains of a road, likely the Via Ostiensis emerged during works to build a triumphal arch under Pope Pius IX in 1850. The tomb of Paul and pagan columbaria stood on the edge of this road, which was paved with flagstones.16

20It is likely that the construction of the Constantinian basilica, which was small in size and open on the Via Ostiensis, did not cause substantial changes in the topographical and morphological structure of the landscape. However, excavation works were necessary for the construction of the subsequent basilica of the three emperors, resulting in the leveling and the deviation of the main road network on a route closer to the Tiber. The construction of the porticus that connected Porta Ostiensis with the basilica of St. Paul probably dates to this far-reaching urban intervention. This porticus was mentioned for the first time in the 6th century by Procopius of Caesarea (Spera 2016-2017).

21The first definitive Christian depositions on the Via Ostiensis date to the end of the third and beginning of the 4th centuries CE. These depositions were put inside previous underground cemeteries that settled in abandoned pozzolana (volcanic ash) quarries. In addition to the hypogeum of St. Thecla and a small catacomb on the Rupe di St. Paolo (see below), there is also the important funerary complex known as the Catacombs of Commodilla along an ancient road connecting the Via Appia, then retraced from Via delle Sette Chiese, a short distance from the Rupe. Here, as a poem by Pope Damasus (366-384) recalls, the martyrs Felix and Adauctus were venerated, to whom other martyrial cults were subsequently added. By this period, it is clear that Christians had made their way into this once pagan funerary area.

22Despite their positions as destinations for pilgrimages, the Christians began abandoning these underground cemeteries in the 5th century. At the same time, the sub divo sepulchral area in connection with the place of worship for the cult of St. Paul began to see a revival. There, both in the church and in the external spaces, over 200 funerary inscriptions have been documented, confirming the attractiveness and territorial role exercised by the cult complex.

3. The Sepolcreto of the Via Ostiensis in 3rd and 4th centuries

23While providing important data on individual funerary contexts, the currently visible parts of the vast Via Ostiensis Necropolis do not allow us to reconstruct the general topographical structure of the area, particularly with regard to the later phases (fig. 4, 10). The systematic demolition of tombs during public works, in addition to the destructive effects of early excavations have deprived us of the possibility of understanding and reconstructing the internal stratification and life phases of the necropolis in its entirety. This loss of context is especially the case for those instances of simple pit and capuchin tombs. Furthermore, the area that is currently visible is just a small portion of that excavated by Lugli in the 20th century in addition to the sector on the slopes of the Rupe mentioned above. This area, moreover, has been restored to reflect the early-middle imperial age context, Lugli’s decisions to privilege those earlier periods has unfortunately resulted in the loss of later periods that may have provided useful information.

Fig. 10. Via Ostiensis Necropolis (A), Tombs on the Rupe di S. Paolo (B) and Catacombs of Timotheus (C).

24With the passage of time and the spread of the inhumation as the preferred burial ritual, the necropolis transformed to adapt the spaces to its new needs. As previously discussed, any available empty spaces became occupied by arcosolium and forma tombs, and some older structures intended to hold cremation-style burials were transformed to house the new inhumation burials. This type of transformation is visible in several cases: in columbarium XXIX the niches for the funeral jars, practically never used, were walled up and new tombs were dug into the floor (fig. 11); also the arch tomb D in area IV, built to accamodate jars filled with cremated remains, had been closed by clay slabs to also use the tomb to bury a small child near the end of the 2nd century CE (see below). Furthermore, the illustrated and photographic documentation from the excavations of this area reveals the presence of later burials from around the 3rd century CE eventually invading the interiors of some of the earlier tombs.

Fig. 11. Via Ostiensis Necropolis, tomb XXIX.

25Interestingly, there are no known burials in the visible excavated area that can be attributed with absolute certainty to Christian worship, despite the presence of the inhumation burials and the fact that the Christians were present in this area on the Via Ostiensis quite early in relation to the deposition of the Apostle Paul inside the necropolis17. In this regard, a request by Orazio Marucchi, which is recorded in archival documents contemporary with the discovery, is so significant “that the exploration be extended to the entire lowered area, and that the forms and anything else of the late epoch and of scarce artistic value bears witness to the history of the cemetery in the Christian era, when the proximity of the Tomb of St. Paul aroused the piety of the faithful”.18 Lugli also reported to the Minister in December 1917 that “the burial ground which had its greatest development in the first and second centuries of the empire, then were continued to be used until late Christianity, because graves were found in the almost on the modern floor and almost all the monuments were cut or over-built with forms of the fifth and sixth centuries up to four or five successive floors”.19

26The eventual abandonment of the cemetery seems to be related to the impact caused by constructing the first small church on the tomb of the Apostle Paul in the Constantinian age, and, to a greater extent, of the basilica of the end of the 4th century CE. The recent discovery of a Constantinian-era coin (316-317 CE) in an abandoned water well layer in Room IV of the site might come from the period during which workers demolished and levelled the land. However, this is an early hypothesis, and cannot be confirmed until further study of other evidence (Marcelli et al. 2021: 77-79).

27A funerary hypogeum for Christian burials dug along the walls of the Rupe di San Paolo, at a higher level than the sub divo tombs, also seems to date to this period (fig. 10). This space is generally known as the Catacomb of Timothy (named for the hypothesis that the remains of the Roman martyr, who probably died during the persecutions of 305-306, have been deposited inside). The Depositio Martyrum of 354 AD and the Acta Silvestri from the 5th century mention the presence of the martyrium on the Via Ostiensis non longe a sepultura Pauli apostoli (Verrando 1990). However, we should also bear in mind that, in the basilica for Paul, there is a clay sarcophagus with an inscription on a marble slab from the 8th century that considers the bones contained therein as corpus beati Tymothei martyr(is), confirming that the population of the early Middle Ages believed that the martyr was buried at an altar dedicated to him in the church (Bisconti, Ferri 2020: 204-207).

28De Rossi investigated the hypogeum in 1872, and dated it to a period between the 4th and 6th centuries based on graffiti on the walls near the entrance. Further excavations in the 1960s made it possible discover other areas of the catacomb, with two prevalent construction phases. The first period dates to a pre-Constantinian era and the second dates to the period of Pope Damasus, probably linked to the presence of a martyr's tomb (Bisconti, Ferri 2020: 204-207).

3. The funerary structures

29The dynamics leading to the progressive spread of inhumation as the preferred method of burial in the 2nd century CE involved the adoption of architectural solutions that transformed existing spaces or resulted in the development of new constructions such as arcosolia, formae or simple pit tombs with cappuccina dug into the ground.

30An example of the transformation of a previous structure to suit of new ritualistic needs on site is well represented in Room IV (fig. 12). After a general impetus to raise the elevation of the floor because of frequent flooding in the 1st century CE,20 this enclosure was buried up to an altitude of 10.50 meters above sea level. The eastern wall of the enclosure, on which it is possible to clearly read these alterations (fig. 13A), was shaved at the same level. Above it, the foundation of one of the perimeter walls of the formae surrounding the Room XV was set. The most evident transformations focus on Tomb D to the south in Room IV. This aedicula-style tomb, made of concrete and faced with tuff blocks, is built against the perimeter wall of the funerary enclosure. Its front-facing opening is shaped as an arch, inside which there are eight urns. Plaster, still partially decorated with red paint, covered the exterior. In an era compatible with the last burial and the shaving of the eastern wall, the niche was partly closed to hold the non-cremated remains of a child, covered by two salvaged tiles placed side by side. These interventions date to the end of the 2nd century CE.21

Fig. 12. Via Ostiensis Necropolis, site plan by C. Cicone.

Fig. 13. Via Ostiensis Necropolis. Funerary enclosure IV, eastern elevation.

31Solutions of similar scope are found in Columbarium XXIX, where the structures relating to the first plant were shaved up to approximately 1.50 meters in height to bring the height of the walkway to 10.45 meters above sea level. The new structure displays the typical characteristics of columbaria from the mid-2nd century CE: its back interior was divided into two registers separated by a brick frame; in the lower register there are three niches for cinerary urns, while in the upper register there is a central rectangular niche covered by a small semi-dome surmounted by a triangular tympanum and flanked by two smaller rectangular niches crowned by a semicircular tympanum. The vertical division into three bands, of which the central project more than the sides, also contributes to further enliven the constructed effect of the plaster decoration. Subsequently, two of the niches from the lower register were closed because they were no longer necessary in the light of the changed ritual needs, which began to provide space for inhumation burials.

32In addition to examples of modifying of existing spaces to suit the needs brought on by inhumations and changing ritualistic beliefs, there are examples of new constructions on site in the 2nd century CE. These new constructions already take into account the need to bury the dead according to the rite of inhumations and, therefore, provide for solutions that allow the greatest number of bodies to be deposited in the small spaces available. For example, the internal walls of the rooms are occupied by arcosolia, while formae find spaces below the floor levels or in the cavities between walls.

33Room XV, for example, dates to the beginning of the 3rd century CE, and was built with enough cavities behind the perimeter walls to accommodate five levels of depositions (fig. 13B): the clay sarcophagi within which the bodies laid were placed on bipedal floors, in turn, supported by brick shelves.

34A similar example, where, the spaces exist below the floor level, is found in the Room LXV22 (fig. 14). Entirely intended for burials, this structure has three arcosolia along the internal walls of the room and three rows of masonry molds below the floor level (fig. 15). These are articulated on three levels separated from each other by bipedal floors resting on small brick brackets. Here there are features that provide us with the ability to reliably date the space, such as by studying stamps found and by studying the frescoes, which are currently housed at the Museum of Via Ostiensis in Porta San Paolo. The examination of these data made it possible to narrow the dates of this space to the second half of the 2nd century to early 3rd century CE at the latest.23

35The late imperial interventions described up to now were followed by the more solidly Christian phase of the cemetery area, of which, as previously discussed, little to nothing is preserved. This context was strongly compromised by the excavations and the subsequent museum building of the burial ground.

Fig. 14. Via Ostiensis Necropolis. Plan of the tombs on the Rupe di San Paolo.

Fig. 15. Via Ostiensis Necropolis. Formae of the tomb LXV.

4. Bioarcheology and funerary archeology

36Burial is an element of funerals, and funerals are part of a set of rites during which the living interacted with death and the dead. All of these rites ultimately culminated at the necropolis, or city of the dead. While we may look at burials through economic, social, or artistic lenses, our project intends to view the tombs themselves as symbolic actions. These are the goals of the Via Ostiensis Necropolis Bioarchaeology Project, which has taken place in Rome since 2017.24

37The Via Ostiensis Necropolis Bioarchaeology Project explores the archaeology of death and the actions surrounding death by carefully excavating the hundreds of urns of human remains systematically from room to room and level by level. Although one of the main objectives of the project is to analyze cremated human remains to obtain scientifically detectable information about the population (i.e. age, sex, diet, etc.), this project aims to produce a complete study of the necropolis, including an in-depth study both the human and non-human remains of the necropolis. The non-human remains of focus include objects such as the tomb structures, funerary objects, the remains of ritual activities, and the elegant frescoes that decorate each room’s walls. Such a multifaceted study will allow us to paint an arguably better-rounded picture of the life, death, and rituals of this ancient population.

38Archaeology exposes the materials that remain from the practices that surround the act of separating the realms of the living and the dead through funerary and commemorative practices in the necropolis. Despite displaying a wide range of funerary gestures through its material remains, the types of funerary practices brought to light during the excavations at the Via Ostiensis reveals a fairly common, traditional picture of funerary rituals. It is critical to remember, however, that these rituals would have likely undergone variations over time and that they cannot be generalized to the entirety of the Roman Empire. However, the goals of the rituals sustained: burying the dead according to public rules sought to expel the symbolic pollution associated with death.25

39On this point, the necropolis of the Via Ostiensis is an ideal site to observe the transition between the cremation ritual and the burial ritual and an example of this paradigmatic shift can be observed in the inhumation a child aged between 3 and 5 years old (Room 4, Structure D; fig. 16). The tomb structure had been modified and converted by raising a brick partition on which two tiles had been laid. The child's burial rests directly on top of eight cinerary urns. (fig. 17). Respectfully, the urns had not been modified with the exception of turning one urn’s lid upside down to support the child’s head. Based on analysis of these non-cremated skeletal remains, the child had suffered from a traumatic injury that resulted in a loss of function in the left arm. The child’s elbow was dislocated and was immobilized. The proximal ends of the ulna and radius had fused together, preventing the child from flexing his arm (fig. 18). In addition to the paleopathological significance of this child’s presence, this discovery is also important when considering the length of time that the Via Ostiense Necropolis remained in occupation. Around the 2nd century CE, the preferred method of burial became inhumation over cremation, and the conversion of Structure D from a space for 8 cinerary urns to the location for the inhumation of a child signifies the paradigmatic shift in Roman burial custom, perhaps motivated by the influx of the Christian religion, at the Via Ostiensis necropolis. With further study and analysis of the remains in the Via Ostiensis necropolis, our team hope to bring more data about the ever-changing use and re-use of sacred funerary spaces to light.

Fig. 16. Burial of the child above the urns in Structure D, Room IV.

Fig. 17. Child aged between 3 and 5 years old from Structure D in Room IV.

Fig. 18. Forearm of child with proximal epiphysis of ulna and radius fused.

5. Conclusion

40The necropolis of the Via Ostiensis is an ideal site to observe the transition between the use of cremation as the preferred treatment for the dead and the use of inhumation. This transition in burial preference changed during the mid-2nd century CE, during which time the composition of the Via Ostiensis Necropolis also changed to match these new needs. Many of the tombs built to house cremations from the older phases of the necropolis’s occupation were transformed to house the new burials. However, it is important to bear in mind that this transition was did not occur overnight. Like most major changes in societal beliefs or preferences, such as the transition from the practice of paganism to Christianity, these changes and transitions occurred slowly over time. The organization of the funerary space at the Via Ostiensis Necropolis as well as the architecture of the tombs were modified to house the inhumation burials while continuing to respect the extant cremations in the tombs. In fact, the Via Ostiensis Necropolis very clearly illustrates the concept of reusing spaces and the tombs to ensure that the newly interred could cohabitate and also respect the previously cremated deceased. There are several instances in the necropolis of both cremations and inhuman within the same tomb, signaling a reverence for the dead from prior generations while functionally making use of the same space. With this transition to inhumation, new types of more articulated funerary structures arose, including structures such as formae, arcosolia, and various types of sarcophagi.

41One benefit to cremation as a burial ritual is that the loculi that house the remains of the deceased are quite small, and therefore these spaces can accommodate more individuals. However, the new and varied forms of inhumation burial that came during the 2nd century CE required more extensive space. With the passage of time and the spread of the inhumation as the preferred burial ritual, the Via Ostiense Necropolis visibly transformed to adapt the extant spaces to its new needs for inhumation burials. Any available empty spaces became occupied by arcosolium or simple pit tombs with cappuccina coverage. Similarly, some older structures intended to hold cremation-style burials were transformed to house the new inhumations.

42Despite not having a direct record to provide definitive confirmation, the fact that Christian graves were present in this area of the Via Ostiensis quite early in relation to the deposition of the Apostle Paul seems clear based on archaeological remains. Probably this early development of inhumation tombs has to do with a common phenomenon in late antiquity, such as the attraction of tombs to martyr places. Indeed, tradition places the martyrdom of St. Paul on the Via Ostiensis, further making this area of the necropolis a prime spot to exhibit an early transition to Christian burial customs.

43The eventual abandonment of the cemetery seems to be related to the impact caused by constructing the first small place of worship on the tomb of the Apostle Paul in the Constantinian age, and, to a greater extent, of the basilica of the end of the 4th century CE. Paradoxically, the cult of Saint Paul also led to the progressive abandonment of the Via Ostiensis Necropolis. The construction of the Constantinian Basilica led to the desire to be buried inside this great funerary basilica (which is evidenced by the numerous levels of burials under its pavement and the profuse collection of lapidary inscriptions). This fact makes evident another typical phenomenon of late antiquity such as the tombs ad Sanctos.

44The examination of these data make it possible to narrow the dates of these later uses of the space to the second half of the 2nd century to early 3rd century CE at the latest. The late imperial interventions described up to now were followed by the more solidly Christian phase of the cemetery area, of which, as previously discussed, little to nothing is preserved with poor documentation. This context was strongly compromised by the excavations and the subsequent museum building of the burial ground.

45Recent multidisciplinary research is shedding new light on these processes of transition and transformation between imperial and Christian funerary contexts and how societies faced and managed these changes. In this way we observe how burials depending on the form (age) use and respect the cremation burials of those already dead.