The colours of death: roman cinerary urns in coloured stone

Abstract

As coloured marbles began to be imported to Rome, from the 1st century BC funerary urns in Egyptian alabaster, purple porphyry and, sometimes, granite, appear in Roman burials. Relatively rarer than the other ash receptacles they pose questions regarding their selection and use. Recorded find-spots are columbaria and funerary monuments belonging to wealthy individuals, including liberti, and, in some circumstances, the Imperial family. In the realm of death the concern of certain Roman social groups for visibility and memory is evident, and the use of urns in exotic coloured stone may be seen as an important means of affirming social differentiation and prestige. This paper offers some interpretations of stone symbolism connected to death investigating in what ways these urns could be perceived as objects of self-promotion given the importance conferred to marble in Roman society.