Abstract:
The \"Hypogeum of the Garlands\" is a sepulchral site, recently found in Grottaferrata (Lazio, Italy), dating back to the first-second century AD. Two sarcophagi were discovered inside, hosting the human remains of Aebutia Quarta, a rich Roman woman, and her son Carvilius Gemellus. While the body of Carvilius is exceptionally well-preserved, following its embalming and perfect sealing of the sarcophagus, in the case of Aebutia only the bones were preserved because of the sarcophagus\'s seal breaking down, although she was covered with perfectly preserved flower garlands. Embalming of the body was a rare ritual in the Imperial Roman times when corpses were more often cremated. The remains of Aebutia showed possible traces of heating. Burned bones from a third individual were discovered on the chamber\'s floor and preliminary anthropological survey showed that this individual was a male of 40-50 years old. Here, a combination of spectroscopic techniques, including non-destructive inelastic neutron scattering and Raman spectroscopy, and minimally destructive Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, were applied to the analysis of these bone samples to give information about ancient Roman funerary practices. The temperature and burning conditions were thus determined, showing that Aebutia Quarta was exposed to mild temperatures (200 °C) only in the upper part of the body, while the third individual was likely cremated as its bones were exposed to temperatures up to 900 °C in quasi-anaerobic conditions.
摘要:
“加兰群岛的支柱”是一个坟墓遗址,最近在Grottaferrata(拉齐奥,意大利),可以追溯到公元1世纪。在里面发现了两个石棺,托管AebutiaQuarta的遗骸,一个富有的罗马女人,和她的儿子CarviliusGemellus.虽然Carvilius的尸体保存得非常好,在石棺的防腐和完美密封之后,在Aebutia的情况下,只有骨头被保存下来,因为石棺的海豹破裂,尽管她身上布满了保存完好的花环.在罗马帝国时期,尸体的防腐是一种罕见的仪式,当时尸体更经常被火化。Aebutia的遗骸显示出可能的加热痕迹。在房间的地板上发现了第三个人的骨头,初步的人类学调查显示,这个人是40-50岁的男性。这里,光谱技术的组合,包括非破坏性非弹性中子散射和拉曼光谱,和最小破坏性傅里叶变换红外光谱,用于分析这些骨骼样本,以提供有关古罗马葬礼实践的信息。因此确定了温度和燃烧条件,表明AebutiaQuarta仅在身体上部暴露于温和的温度(200°C),而第三个人可能被火化,因为它的骨头在准厌氧条件下暴露在高达900°C的温度下。