The late Roman necropolis of Móstoles
The late Roman funerary world
The late Roman necropolis of Móstoles
Initially, ten structures were located: seven grave burials, two infant burial sites deposited and covered by imams (tiles), and a small circular structure that provided no material. Later, four more burials were documented, of which two did not offer skeletal remains, but part of the funeral trousseau.
All adult burials were individual, with graves dug in the ground rectangular and with rounded corners. In at least three cases, conduits for libations or profuse formed by two opposite immbixes, placed on the head of the corpse.
The burials have two types of covering: with earth, forming a small mound or with a tile roof. All these icesices correspond to the same 66 x 25 cm pattern, highlighting their manufacture with a bivalve mold.
All the burials in the grave, except one, have provided iron nails that, due to their position, are interpreted as remains of coffins. The corpses were laid in a supine position, with the arms next to the body and the hands on the pelvis or hips.
Ten of the thirteen burials have provided trousseau, which appears located at the feet of the deceased or next to the head. These are personal items of daily life such as a bronze needle, a plumb line, footwear remains (evidenced by the iron tacks), a glass ointment bowl, pieces of crockery belonging to the deceased or the containers that were used in the banquet funeral, which were placed next to the corpse with food and drink to accompany the deceased on his last journey.
Thanks to the literary sources the details of the ritual and its different stages are known. It started with the purification of the grave or suffix, a rite of water and fire. On the same day offerings or libations were made in honor of the Manes gods and a funeral banquet was held or silicernium, in which the living and the dead participated. Previously, the sacrifice of the porca praesentanea (sacrifice of a sow in front of the assistants as a purifying element for both the deceased and the family) that was consumed during the banquet.
The necropolis of Móstoles, dated between the last third of the XNUMXrd century and the second half of the XNUMXth century after Christ, is an excellent example of the funeral ritual of the time in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula.
Archaeological performance
The discovery of the late Roman necropolis of Móstoles occurred during the archaeological control of earthworks carried out on the site of calle Gerona nº 4, where the construction of a building was planned.