Research Update

Hello readers! So my professor has suggested that I look to Jstor to find more articles on my subject so I spent some time this week browsing with a few different search terms and didn't come up with much of anything new. I don't have a new post for you this week because I ended up going to Six Flags today so I will hopefully be able to find something tomorrow that I can post for you all. If not I will probably have to figure out some new search terms or give up on Jstor.

My Research Process

With the books I have been reading there hasn't been much to my research process. I have been looking at the sources used in the books for possible future references to look into but I think I have mentioned that before. For this week I wanted to get something a little different up so I looked up 'ancient rome death' on youtube and selected a few videos that seemed reliable. The first was a project done by the American Institute for Roman Culture and Northeast University and the second was an archeology group in the UK.

I want to look at more videos in the future because I feel that the visual representation the provide adds some interest to the research.

Taking a Break

I thought for this weeks post I would take a break from hounding you with information from the books I have been reading and try to find something a little more fun.

click here to view information on 10 famous gladiators including Spartacus.

The above video talks about various aspects of funeral and burial practices that I have previously mentioned as well as some new practices that I haven't. It has some great visual footage of burial sites.

This video is of an archeology group opening a Roman coffin. Sad and interesting at the same time the coffin holds two bodies-an adult and a child.

I hope you enjoy the videos as much as I did. I thought it would be nice to get some visual representation up and give you all a break from reading my long posts. 

Arena Victim Disposal

I read most of the chapter dealing with the disposal of arena victims and once again have quoted the parts that I found to be the most useful:

GLADIATOR BURIAL (pg160)

"True gladiators (began slave or free, trained under a lanista or at an imperial school to a level of skill and specialization, and bound by oath to fight until dead, freed, or the fulfillment of their contract) were generally allowed and sometimes provided with decent burial. Corpses could be claimed by owners, editors, relatives, burial clubs, or fellow gladiators. Many individual burials arranged by relatives and friends are known from epitaphs which listed the gladiator’s name, style of fighting, and number of combats, as well as the name of the person who arranged the burial. Most of the gladiators recorded in epitaphs tend to be successful ones who had lived long enough with enough success to become free, develop friendships and marry or cohabit, save money, and make funeral arrangements."  (Kyle 160)

Former elites may find themselves left unburied if they shame themselves by attempting suicide or begging for mercy in the arena. (Kyle 161)

THE DISPOSAL OF NOXII-OR LESSERS, CAPTIVES, ARENA SLAVES, ETC:

"Not all of these mean were heartless criminals, some were condemned for political reasons, innocent victims of reigns of terror, or pious followers of illegal cults.  Most went straight to the beasts unless they showed signs of special training or potential. Noxii, whose lives and deaths suggested neither virtue nor skill, were abused and damned. Purchasers of condemned convicts were contractually bound to have them killed by a deadline, but there was no clause concerning provision of burial."(Kyle 162)

There is an official undertaker in charge of those who are denied a proper burial. Those using other methods are fined. 

Image from Wikipedia of Rodolfo Lanciani

“In many cases contents of each vault were reduced to a uniform mass of black, viscid, pestilent, unctuous matter; in a few cases the bones could in a measure be singled out and identified. The reader will hardly believe me when I say that men, beasts, bodies, and carcasses, and any kind of unmentionable refuse of the town were heaped up in those dens.” (Kyle 164)

Quoting Lanciani (pictured above) whom in 1870s found several hundred man-made pits (of 4 by 5 m by 10m deep) near the northwest corner of the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. He excavated 75 of these.

These pits were left open to elements until full, then minimally covered.

Lanciani uncovered another mass grave in part of a moat that was 160 feet long, 100 wide, and 30 deep that contained about 24,000 remains of both humans and animals- it could be from the plague. (Kyle 165)

Going back to crucifixion, bodies were guarded until dead and probably longer. They were sometimes taken down and buried t night or if an order was specifically given to do so. Otherwise it is unlikely that most corpses were taken down, let alone buried after crucifixion. (169) Usually left to the animals and elements. 

Discussion: As the arenas grew in popularity Rome was left to deal with thousands of the dead. The majority would not receive a proper burial. Mass burial sites moved as needs arose because of sanitation or lack of space. The author mentioned that it is not even certain that these mass graves were used for arena victims but could also contain victims of the plague. Please feel free to ask questions in the comment section.

Looking into the Arena

It has been a while since my last post and I apologize! This week I have been reading "Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome" by Donald G. Kyle. This book has focused on, as the title suggests, spectacles of death ranging from public execution of criminals to the famous Arenas. While I was reading I typed up some of the more interesting quotes:

“The ancients thought that by this sort of spectacle they rendered a service to the dead, after they had tempered it with a more cultured form of cruelty. For of old, in the belief that the souls of the dead are propitiated with human blood, they used at funerals to sacrifice captives or slaves of poor quality whom they bought. Afterwards it seemed good to obscure their impiety by making it a pleasure. So after the persons procured had been trained in such arms as they had and best they might – their training was to learn to be killed! – they did them to death on the appointed day at the tombs. So they found comfort for death in murder.” (Kyle 43-44)

It should be noted that it was not a common practice to sacrifice humans at funerals but there are a few records. In early times public killings became a way to derive entertainment from the disposal of criminals, deal out punishment, and perform ritualized sacrifices. The arena developed as these spectacles grew in popularity. 

"Elite Romans had long used elaborate funerals to reinforce familial claims to status, and they would later use imposing monuments and tombs as more enduring symbols." (Kyle 47)

A reference to burial sites. 

"In 214, 370 deserters caught in southern Italy were publicly scourged in the place of assembly (comitium) and thrown from the Tarpeian Rock at Rome” (Kyle 49)

 This quote shows the severity of punishment as well as a disposal method.

Click to take a tour of the Colosseum

“Quick and unaggravated, decapitation at the edge of town was the most discreet form of execution, a privilege for citizens of status. For a host of crimes Rome punished criminals of low status with aggravated or ultimate punishments (summa supplicia), which included exposure to wild beasts, crucifixion, and burning alive. One could also be condemned to become a gladiator, or sent for a life to the mines (metallum) or public works (opus publicum)” (Kyle 53)

Another quote showing the severity of punishments doled out by the Ancient Romans. 

“For exemplary effect, crucifixions were held at well-travelled public roadways, offering a stark contrast to the hallowed burials of good citizens nearby” (Kyle 53)

Crucifixions were usually punishments used again Jews and Christians.

“All Roman funerary practice was influenced by two basic notions – first, that death brought pollution and demanded from the survivors acts of purification and expiation; secondly, that to leave a corpse unburied had unpleasant repercussions on the fate of the departed soul” (Kyle 129) 

"Methods of removal and disposal varied according to the victim's status. Gladiators were carried on stretchers through the fate of death. Lesser victims were dragged off by hooks. The hooks added insult and provided a way to avoid personal contact with an obscene body."  (Kyle 156) pictured above.

 

Discussion: First of all, I apologize that this post is really long when I said I would try to keep them short. At this rate with book readings I doubt that will happen. The pages that I read focuses mainly on the way in which people were killed in the Arena and has not focused on the mode of disposal yet. When I quit reading though Kyle was discussing how the denial of burial was used as a further form of punishment for the worst criminals such as traitors, murderers, and enemies of Rome. These bodies were often fed to beasts and little is known of what they did with any remains left over. There is speculation that they would be dumped in a pit or simply left. The next chapter is entitled Disposal From Roman Arenas which I hope to get a chance to read later this evening.

Colosseum Image:
http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/

Tour is provided via BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/launch_ani_colosseum.shtml

Disposal Image:
http://www.themonolith.com/tag/ancient-roman-death-metal/

Quotes:
Kyle, Donald. Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome. London: Rutledge, 1998.