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| Question:
How did the Romans bury their dead? |
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| St Pancras cemetery |
| About 330 burials have been discovered in the St Pancras area of Chichester, to the east of the east gate, and lying on the north side of Stane Street. Most of the burials are cremations placed in pots, dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. In the later Roman period, cremation burial was far less common, as shown by the skeleton here. |
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| Ferna cremation |
| The cremated bones of a woman were buried in a pot, which was covered with this samian dish. The name of the woman ‘Ferna’ has been scratched on the dish. This is a very unusual find. |
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| Infant burial |
| Many babies died in the Roman period and their bodies were often not buried in cemeteries, but were buried near the house in which they lived. This baby’s skeleton was found at Bignor Roman villa. It was between 6 and 18 months old when it died. |
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| Burial urn |
| This large pottery pot contained remains of a cremation. It has been decorated and has a matching lid. Most bodies in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD were cremated. |
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| Burial cist |
| This sandstone box called a cist (1.18x .66m) contained a glass vessel with cremated remains, and many pottery vessels. Glass and pottery were both frequently used to contain remains. There was also a row of lamps placed on a ledge at one end of the cist. |
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