43rd BABAO 2013 Conference Abstract: Treatment of the Body Session Rhea Brettell ‘Embalming’ in late Roman Britain: a molecular-based approach to the identification of resinous materials in mortuary contexts and an evaluation of their significance. There is increasing evidence for complexity in mortuary practices in Britain during the Roman period. One class of burials appears to demonstrate an association between inhumation in substantial stone sarcophagi or lead-lined coffins, the presence of textiles and ‘plaster’ body coatings. It has been suggested that this ‘package’ represents a deliberate attempt at body preservation and can be linked to the spread of Christianity. This is disputed, however, with high social status proffered as an alternative explanation. Despite considerable speculation regarding the use of resinous substances as part of this rite no molecular analysis has previously been undertaken. Using gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry and the ‘biomarker’ approach, we provide the first chemical confirmation for the use of resinous plant exudates in late Roman mortuary contexts in Britain. These materials include both common European resins (Pinaceae) and exotic species which had been transported from the Mediterranean or Levant (Pistacia spp.) and traded through southern Arabia (Boswellia spp). This research has significant implications for our understanding of body treatment as part of late Roman mortuary rites and funerary rituals. These findings also throw new light on the relationship between the remote province of Britannia and the remainder of the Roman world and place these ‘special’ burials within a corpus of high status and, in some instances, Christian inhumations now attested throughout the Empire.
Posted on: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 06:35:19 +0000
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