The funerary art of ancient Rome changed throughout the course of the Roman Republic and the Empire and took many different forms. There were two main burial practices used by the Romans throughout history, one being cremation, another inhumation. The vessels used for these practices include sarcophagi, ash chests, urns, and altars. In addition to these, mausoleums, stele, and other monuments were also used to commemorate the dead. The method by which Romans were memorialized was determined by social class, religion, and other factors. While monuments to the dead were constructed within Roman cities, the remains themselves were interred outside the cities.
After the end of Etruscan rule, Roman laws regarding laying the dead to rest became very strict. A major issue was the legality and morality of interring the dead within the city limits. Many Roman towns and provinces had similar rules, often in their charters, such as the Lex Ursonensis. Particularly at the very end of the Republic, exceptions to this principle became more frequent, albeit only for the most powerful leaders. The means used to commemorate the dead served to acknowledge the gods, but also served as means of social expression depicting Roman values and history.
Early Christians continued this custom until Late antiquity, but liked to be buried close to the graves of martyrs. Catacombs and funerary halls, that later became great churches, grew up around the graves of famous martyrs outside the walls of Rome.
Funerary altars
In ancient Rome, Roman citizens would memorialize their dead by creating cippi or grave altars. These altars became, not just commissioned by the rich, but also commonly erected by freedmen and slaves. The function of these altars was either to house the ashes of the dead or just to symbolically commemorate the memory of the deceased. Often, practical funerary altars were constructed to display vessels that contained the ashes and burnt bones of the deceased. These ash urns were placed in deep cavities of the altars that were then covered with a lid. Other times, there was a depression in the altar in which libations could be poured. Some Roman funerary altars were provided with pipes so that these libations could "nourish" the remains. Less commonly, the body of the deceased was placed in the altar. While some altars contained remnants of the deceased, most Roman funerary altars had no practical function and only were erected to memorialize the dead.
The practice of erecting Roman funerary altars is linked to the tradition of constructing votive altars to honor the gods. Due to the acceptance that altars act as a symbol of reverence, it is believed that funerary altars were used to heroicize the deceased. Funerary altars differed from votive altars that honored the gods, because they were not recipients of blood sacrifices. Grave altars of heroes were connected with ritual sacrifices, but altars of regular Roman citizens were not. This practical difference is determined because Roman funerary altars do not have sacrificial pans or braziers. By having a similar appearance to votive altars, the symbolism of the reverence of a sacrifice was implied, therefore conveying proper respect to the dead. While having different meanings, the two types of altars were similarly constructed, both aboveground and round or rectangular in shape.
Funerary altars of more wealthy Roman citizens were often found on the interior of more elaborate tombs. Altars erected by the middle class were also set up in or outside of monumental tombs, but also in funerary precincts that lined the roads leading out of the city of Rome. The altars that were part of tomb complexes were set up on family plots or on building plots bought by speculators, who then sold them to individual owners. Tombs and altars had a close connection in the mind of a Roman, evidenced by the Latin inscriptions where tombs are described as if they were altars.
Epitaphs
Epitaphs on funerary altars provide much information about the deceased, most often including their name and their filiation or tribe. Less often, the age and profession of the deceased was included in the epitaph. A typical epitaph on a Roman funerary altar opens with a dedication to the manes, or the spirit of the dead, and closes with a word of praise for the honoree. These epitaphs, along with the pictorial attributes of the altars, allow historians to discern much important information about ancient Roman funerary practices and monuments. Gathered from the funerary altars, they make it clear that the majority of the altars were erected by a homogeneous group of middle-class citizens.
Dedicants and honorees
Epitaphs often emphasize the relationship between the deceased and dedicant, with most relationships being familial (husbands and wives, parents and children, etc.). Many altars also feature portraits of the deceased. Extrapolating from the evidence of epitaphs and portraits on the altars, it can be concluded that freedmen and their descendants most frequently commissioned funerary altars in Rome—people who were teachers, architects, magistrates, writers, musicians and so on.
The most common type of altar dedication is from parents to their deceased child. The epitaph often gives the age of the child to further express grief at the death at such a young age. On the other hand, the age of a deceased person at an older age is rarely put on the epitaph. Some other, less common, dedications are to parents from children, with the child most likely being a boy. The second most common relationship of honorees is husband to wife or wife to husband.
Outside of familial relationships, patrons sometimes dedicated altars to a slave or freedman and vice versa. The relationship between dedicant and honoree of some altars that support this conclusion was actually that of husband and wife, because patrons sometimes married their freed slaves. While the relationship between patron and slave or freedman could include marriage, sometimes these citizens simply had a personal relationship with a non-blood related person that they wanted to commemorate.
In contrast to most of the monuments that survive from Rome, women played a major part in funerary altars, because many altars were erected in honor of or commissioned by a woman. These women were honored as wives, mothers, and daughters, as well remembered for their professions. For example, professional women were honored as priestesses, musicians, and poets. Sometimes the epitaph does not provide information about the profession of the honored woman, but details of the portrait (for example, the dress of the portrait) give clues to her vocation. Many surviving altars honor women because, in ancient Rome, women tended to die young, due to childbirth and general hardships from marriage and overwork. Roman women were often honored by their husbands, with some altars dedicated to the pair and with some just honoring the wife. Furthermore, some female children were honored in altars, commissioned by their grief-stricken parents.
Designs
Roman funerary altars had varied structures, with most reflecting the erection design of votive altars, which have flat tops. For others, which most likely were designed to receive offerings, the tops of the altars were dished. Deeper cavities were created for ash urns to be placed inside. Sizes of the altars could range from miniature examples to 2 meters tall. Some carried busts or statues or portraits of the deceased. The simplest and most common form of a funerary altar was a base with a pediment, often featuring a portrait or epitaph, on top of the base. They are almost all rectangular in shape and taller than they are wide. Plain or spiral columns usually frame the portrait or scene featured on the altar.
Along with the typical portrait and epitaph, other motifs were inscribed in the altars. These motifs often had otherworldly or funerary meanings, which include laurel wreaths or fruit –swags. Mythological allusions in the design of the altar often aimed to liken the deceased to a divine being. Examples of these allusions include a young girl who is represented in the guise of Daphne transformed into a laurel tree or another girl who is portrayed as the goddess Diana. Sometimes, tools that were characteristic of the deceased's profession were featured on the altar. The design of the Roman funerary altars differs between each individual altar, but there are many overarching themes.
Sarcophagi
"...a stone monument is an expression of permanence. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Roman obsession with personal immortality acquired its physical form in stone."
Sarcophagi were used in Roman funerary art beginning in the second century AD, and continuing until the fourth century. A sarcophagus, which means "flesh-eater" in Greek, is a stone coffin used for inhumation burials. Sarcophagi were commissioned not only for the elite of Roman society (mature male citizens), but also for children, entire families, and beloved wives and mothers. The most expensive sarcophagi were made from marble, but other stones, lead, and wood were used as well. Along with the range in production material, there existed a variety of styles and shapes, depending on where the sarcophagus was produced and whom it was produced for.
Before sarcophagi Inhumation burial practices and the use of sarcophagi were not always the favored Roman funerary custom. The Etruscans and Greeks used sarcophagi for centuries before the Romans finally adopted the practice in the second century. Prior to that period, the dead were usually cremated and placed in marble ash chests or ash altars, or were simply commemorated with a grave altar that was not designed to hold cremated remains. Despite being the main funerary custom during the Roman Republic, ash chests and grave altars virtually disappeared from the market only a century after the advent of the sarcophagus.
It is often assumed that the popularity for sarcophagi began with the Roman aristocracy and gradually became more accepted by the lower classes. However, in the past, the most expensive and ostentatious grave altars and ash chests were commissioned more frequently by wealthy freedmen and other members of the emerging middle class than by the Roman elite. Due to this fact and the lack of inscriptions on early sarcophagi, there is not enough evidence to make a judgment on whether or not the fashion for sarcophagi began with a specific social class. Surviving evidence does indicate that a great majority of early sarcophagi were used for children. This suggests that the change in burial practice may not have simply stemmed from a change in fashion, but perhaps from altered burial attitudes. It is possible that the decision to begin inhuming bodies occurred because families believed that inhumation was a kinder, and less disturbing burial rite than cremation, thus necessitating a shift in burial monument.
Stylistic transition from altars and ash chests to sarcophagi