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- Title
Oak, ash and pine: the role of firewood in funerary rituals at the Roman site of Reza Vella (Ourense, Spain).
- Authors
Martín-Seijo, María; César Vila, Mario
- Abstract
The aim of this paper is to reflect on the role of firewood in Roman burial rites of cremation. The case study of Reza Vella (Ourense, Spain) provides valuable information about the uses and the role of plants in a funerary context in northwest Iberia. Archaeobotanical data from Roman cemeteries in this area are very scarce, but they provide valuable information on the funerary customs introduced by the Roman Empire to the provinces, and how this interaction could be reflected in the management of firewood. The structures related to cremation rites include primary and secondary contexts. Charcoal remains recovered inside the structures, of bustum type, are the remains of the fuel burned during the cremation of the corpses. In these primary contexts, the ubiquitous taxa were Quercus sp. deciduous, Fraxinus sp. and Pinus spp. Other taxa, such as Salix/Populus, Prunus sp. and Arbutus unedo, have also been identified in secondary burials. A combination of different factors probably determined their selection for cremation purposes, such as their availability in the environs of the necropolis, differential access to wood resources, their heat potential, technical aspects related to their exploitation and even conceptual aspects, such as their symbolic meaning.
- Subjects
FUELWOOD; CHARCOAL analysis (Archaeology); ARCHAEOLOGICAL chemistry; CREMATION; PLANT remains (Archaeology)
- Publication
Archaeological & Anthropological Sciences, 2019, Vol 11, Issue 5, p1911
- ISSN
1866-9557
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s12520-018-0641-7