Original scientific paper
Grave of a carpenter from the Necropolis at Relja in Zadar
Smiljan Gluščević
Abstract
During excavation of the large Roman cemetery at Relja in Zadar during the period of 1989-90, a grave with tegulae on two guides and featuring amorphous stone was found among the nearly one thousand graves that featured both burial rites. It contained the remains of an inhumed deceased person and grave goods comprising eleven iron objects. The objects were in fact eight tools, two braces and a spear tip. Graves with tools have been found in the wider area of Zadar, but in Liburnia, i.e. the Roman province of Dalmatia, such finds have been rare. As some of the objects are very rare, and not only on our sites, a detailed typological and chronological analysis was undertaken. During conservation treatment, traces of wood and textiles were found, hence they too were subject to testing. Anthropological analysis of the skeleton showed that the grave contained a young person who had done physical labour. The conclusion, based on all the data, is that the deceased person was a carpenter who may have been assigned to a military unit which at the time, meaning at the transition from the 4th to the 5th century, had been stationed in Zadar.
Keywords
Relja; grave; inhumation; tool; anthropology; conservation
Hrčak ID:
140051
URI
Publication date:
1.4.2015.
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