How Does Social Status Affect Burial Practices Of Ancient Rome?

Burial practices in ancient Rome were closely tied to social differentiation and served as a way to distinguish between different members of Roman society. Burial practices varied depending on an individual's social status, with the wealthy and powerful being buried in grand tombs, while the poor and lower classes were buried in simple graves. This paper explores the social differentiation in ancient Roman burial practices and how social status affected burial practices. Additionally, this paper will examine the influences from other cultures on Roman burials.

Ancient Roman burial practices were diverse and complex, reflecting the social differentiation of Roman society. Depending on their legal status, wealth, profession, religion and personal

For example, Greek customs influenced southern Italy where tomb painting developed; Etruscan customs influenced northern Italy where elaborate tombs with rich grave goods were built; Eastern customs influenced the shift from cremation to inhumation in the third century CE (Clark, 2012). These examples show how ancient Romans used burial practices as a way of expressing their social differentiation in terms of wealth, status, power, and identity. The funeral remains of the Roman world are powerful remnants that provide significant insights into the past. Overall, there was a continuity of tradition in Roman funerary art, despite some local peculiarities and geological factors (Toynbee, 1973). For example, the Etruscan sarcophagus lids with recumbent figures survived in the Roman couches (klinai) on which the statues of the dead recline, and the wax imagines of the middle republic were perpetuated in the sculptured portrait busts of later times. Despite the vast expanse of the empire, there were common influences transmitted through the actions of merchants, travelers, and soldiers. Toynbee (1973) argues that the gradual shift from cremation to inhumation during the early Empire reflects the growing significance that people attached to the individuality of the deceased. The variety of above-ground tomb types is extensive, but while there are many local peculiarities (such as the wine-barrels of Portugal or the aedkulae of Noricum), certain universal types can be identified, such as rectangular house tombs (like at Isola Sacra), large circular mausoleums (likely started by Augustus), tower tombs (found not only in the West but also throughout Syria and neighboring countries), altar-tombs, and others (Toynbee,