Classical Religious Belief and Burial Practice in Roman Britain

Abstract

Aspects of burial custom in Roman Britain which seem to be influenced by Roman ideas include burials found accompanied by coins, eggs, charcoal, phials, which once contained perfume, and ritual objects, such as jugs and pateras. The implications of these customs are considered together with the significance of symbolism displayed on tombstones. Discussion of funerary ritual, as it might have been practised in Roman Britain, includes the portrayal of the funerary banquets on tombstones. It is concluded, on the evidence available, that burial custom, like religious thought, was a matter of personal choice, partly because the Romans did not attempt to prescribe funerary practice, except in the law relating to the positioning of cemeteries, and partly because of the strong influence of Celtic religious belief surviving in Roman Britain.

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