Mária T. Biró: The Bone Objects of the Roman Collection. (Catalogi Musei Nationalis Hungarici. Seria Archeologica 2; Budapest, 1994)
X. SACRAL OBJECTS, RELIGIOUS RELICS
X. SACRAL OBJECTS, RELIGIOUS RELICS In cultures preceding Christianity cult has prossessed every minute of human life just like Christian religious required entire devotion. However, apart from prehistoric peoples, the exaggerated philosophical and moral demands of religion were realized by people to an ever shrinking degree, moreover, "even the feeling for their realization has died out centuries ago." 121 The requirements still exist, although it is common knowledge that less and less people satisfy them. As the individual became alienated from these values — moreover his confronting is condensed to certain solemn, cardinal events of human life as birth, marriage, illness, death — their symbolism is ever farther from their everyday life; it is concentrated rather to the turning points of human life. Unlike the everyday life of people in the antiquity the life of whom was determined by this sacral way of life, by this cult. This sacral way of life — in the definition of B. Hamvas worth of philosophical studies — is the composition of forces postulating and realizing spiritual verity (in sacral texts); their cultivation (in sacral activities) and their representation (in sacral symbolism). In archaeology we are able to follow the active part of this course partially and the objectivized symbolism in its entirety. Active, functional moments are partly reflected by the furnishing of churches, sanctuaries and cultic places together with the grave furniture of burials. Both scholars of the history of religion and archaeologists are for a long time aware of the role of caskets in Graeco-Roman marriage ceremony. According to Greek representations spindle is also a present given to the bride. As Teocritos says: "Draw to my home, O mystic wheel, the man that I long for." 122 ("Zu")f£, eA/ce TV rrjvov èfj.6u TCOTÏ 5ûfj,a Tov au6pa n ) Excavations prove that spindle resp. distaff being the other device of spinning must have been a part of Roman marriage ceremony as well. Bone spindle (or distaff) is placed in the graves near the dead and it is also present at the representations of tombs. The similar cultic role of caskets is known for a long time. An archaeological proof of cultic activities is the placing of semi-circular and humpbacked bone combs near the shin of children and women in graves; showing in a way the reversed world concept: what was used at the head when alive must be at the foot of the dead. While evaluating the graves of Intercisa it was at Grave 11 (E. Mahler's excavation in 1908) where my attention was called by the seven bone hair-pins of which six were decorated with pine cone — being one of the most popular Roman chtonian symbols — with only their head remaining in all six cases. 123 We assume that the case was not that of disrespect; not that the hair of the dead was pinned with broken stuff; on the contrary, the pins were possibly deliberately broken in the course of the burial rite and while the part of the pin representing pine cone was placed near the dead, the tip of the pin was thrown away. Of course, to decide whether it was a chance occurrence we have to do with here, or an actual ritual practice — requires further investigations. Beside reconstructing ritual activities, sacral representations and religious symbolism were also objectivized in our archaeological finds. It
