The significance of dining in Late Roman and Early Christian funerary rites and tomb decoration
The presented thesis examines dining practices associated with ancient funerary rites, and representations of meals that decorated Roman tombs. Evidence for dining, and its significance in mortuary rites, comes from various sources: from pagan, Christian and Jewish literary examples that describe funerary and commemorative events, and archaeological material of food remains and dining installations at the cemeteries, to pictures of meals depicted on different media: cinerary urns and altars, gravestones, frescoes, mosaics and sarcophagi. The aim of this thesis is to investigate available sources, focusing mainly on pictorial representations of late Roman and early Christian dining in order to assess the purpose of decorating the tombs with convivial images. The thesis begins with a discussion of how the Roman catacombs were used by early Christians, and how they were perceived by the post-sixteenth-century explorers and researchers. As our understanding of the development of the subterranean cemeteries has changed over the past centuries, so has our view of the late ancient societies and their funerary practices. Chapter 1 investigates both written and archaeological evidence for Roman funerary meals (silicernium
Ingle, Gabriela Elzbieta
Roman funerary art ; catacombs ; Roman dining ; Jewish ; commemorative rites ; early Christian art
The significance of dining in Late Roman and Early Christian funerary rites and tomb decoration. The presented thesis examines dining practices associated with ancient funerary rites, and representations of meals that decorated Roman tombs. Evidence for dining, and its significance in mortuary rites, comes from various sources: from pagan, Christian and Jewish literary examples that describe funerary and commemorative events, and archaeological material of food remains and dining installations at the cemeteries, to pictures of meals depicted on different media: cinerary urns and altars, gravestones, frescoes, mosaics and sarcophagi. The aim of this thesis is to investigate available sources, focusing mainly on pictorial representations of late Roman and early Christian dining in order to assess the purpose of decorating the tombs with convivial images. The thesis begins with a discussion of how the Roman catacombs were used by early Christians, and how they were perceived by the post-sixteenth-century explorers and researchers. As our understanding of the development of the subterranean cemeteries has changed over the past centuries, so has our view of the late ancient societies and their funerary practices. Chapter 1 investigates both written and archaeological evidence for Roman funerary meals (silicernium
significance din late roman early_christian funerary_rite tomb decoration present examines din practice_associate ancient funerary_rite representation meal decorate roman tomb evidence dining significance mortuary rite come various source pagan christian jewish literary example describe funerary commemorative event archaeological_material food remain din installation cemetery picture meal depict different_medium urn altar mosaic aim_investigate available_source focus_mainly pictorial_representation late_roman early_christian din order_ass purpose decorate tombs image begin_discussion roman use early christians perceive post sixteenth_century explorer researcher development subterranean cemetery change view late ancient_society funerary_practice investigates write archaeological_evidence roman_funerary meal