Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 33/4. (2013)
Articles
Family Funerary Monuments in Roman Dacia 67 simple graveyards and nine rings were discovered, one of them a large, carved stone monument was set with tumulus too. At Rosia Montana- Valea Nanului two tumuli were found; one of them had a ring. Rosia Montanä-Carpem site may also hide a large Roman cemetery, but yet it is a small burial zone. Four rings were excavated here, but possibly some more tumular structures are in the area. The largest necropolis of family funerary monuments of Alburnus Maior lies at Rosia Montana-Täul Secuilor. 139 rings were uncovered here, some of them had a tumular structure, and rarely these were covered with pebbles and cobbles. Three tumuli were found as well; these were covered with stones, but had no rings around them. At other sites rings and family funerary monuments have been also uncovered: Abrud, Bocsa, Brädeni, Ticvaniu Mic and Ciocadia. At Abrud- Valea Selistei three tumuli were found, two of them not yet excavated. The third had a diameter of 470 cm and four cremational graves. Its mound was covered with a stone layer.25 At Bocsa- Valea Moravitei tumular structures are mentioned. At Brädeni-Den/u/ Bradului a tumular Roman cemetery was discovered.26 We don’t know much about the tumular structure from Ticvaniu Mic-Budovita, just the location of it (RAN code: 54341.01). At Ciocadia-Codrisoare a ring was discovered north from a villa rustica. It was built of river stones, and it hosted one cremational grave.27 The numbers: definitions and statistics In the comparison of graveyards, rings and tumuli only 491 entries can be calculated in lack of information (Fig. 1). The most numerous group is the rings’ with 265 entries, followed by the group of tumuli, 170 objects, and finally the graveyards with 31 structures. A stone groundwork generally is a 10-20 cm thick stone layer, which can be the foundation of a larger tombstone or aedicula, or the mound of a flattened out tumulus. It is frequently present with rings, in five cases with tumulus, but 25 independent cases are also known. 25 Cräciun 2001; Cräciun et al. 2002b; Damian 2002; Damian et al. 2003a; Damian et al. 2003b; Damian et al. 2004a; Damian et al. 2004b; Damian et al. 2005a; Damian et al. 2005b; Damian et al. 2006a; Damian et al. 2006b; Damian et al. 2007; Moga et al. 2002; Roman et al. 2002; Scurtu 2004; Simion et al. 2003; Simion et al. 2004. 26 Cräciun et al. 2002a. 27 Luca 2010, 43. Fig. 1. Ratio of the different family funerary monument types The graveyard is a low walled building with one or more chambers, with or without an entrance. In some cases the wall was built on a foundation, and covered with clay or mortar. Inside the graveyard one or more graves were buried. Sometimes they could have been in use for a longer period. For example at Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa two building phases of a graveyard can be observed, with two platforms, one of them for an aedicula, and with three graves inside.28 This is one of the most spectacular graveyards in Dacia, the most graveyards are more poorly worked, for sure not higher than the last layer of stones found, these are sometimes worked stone blocks, but usually the wall above or the whole wall was built of simple river stones, without mortar. We have no proof of the existence of mausoleums in Dacia, which would be a funerary building covered with roof. Rings can be round or rectangular of carved stones or of river-stones in one or more layers, sometimes with foundation, occasionally with platform for statue or inscription. In many cases it appears together with a mound, which can be covered with pebbles and cobbles, but sometimes the mound is not perceptible, only the stone layer. A rare version is, when more concentric rings are present, and the narrowest ring hosts one urn. All of the variants of this type can be found at the above mentioned cemeteries at Alburnus Maior. The tumulus is a soil-heap above maximum three graves, only one case is known, where four graves are present, the fourth subsequently 28 Luca - Pinter 2003, 67-68.
