Londinium Lite

CLASSIFIED ADS

Cemetery management

A Roman cemetery in London. Reconstruction Derek Lucas
The cemeteries of Roman London were planned and managed

Although the management of cemeteries is only known from Rome, it might be expected that the concept of the urban cemetery and the normal methods of organising burial would have been imported along with other aspects of Roman culture.

Such management must have involved the initial choice of cemetery sites, followed by the allocation of plots and then the order, arrangement and alignment of the burials themselves. Sites in any of the cemeteries may have been either purchased or permission granted by the local authorities.

Such a large cemetery as the eastern cemetery of London would certainly have required some form of service sector to ensure its smooth operation. The manufacture and supply of coffins, and the supply of wood, especially for funeral pyres, would have taken considerable organisation probably suggesting a commercial system.

Map of London's Roman cemeteries
London's cemeteries lay beside the main roads outside town

Excavation of areas of the eastern cemetery (for example at MSL87)has provided evidence for the layout of burials implying such a degree of organisation. The burials lie within a system of enclosures mostly defined by ditches, alongside a cemetery road.

Across the entire area, the ditches, burials, structures and cremation burial pits followed two major alignments, either parallel with or at right angles to the road. Burials had been placed as groups in small-scale clusters, alignments and rows within particular plots. Most of the perceived groups are likely to be family or extended family-groups, or individuals closely tied by a relationship defined by patronage.

It is also possible that Londoners belonged to particular religious or social collegia (clubs). Although not always exclusively concerned with burial, such clubs may have functioned as trade associations, others as religious groups or social clubs.

Among their varied activities, most seem to have organised a burial fund into which members paid, so that a fee would be made available on their death to cover or help with funeral expenses. The clubs may have had their own burial grounds within the cemetery, bought or given through patronage.

For further information, see A good send-off in Roman Londoners.

back to top

    The Museum of London Group is funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Corporation of London. London Wall, LONDON EC2Y 5HN, United Kingdom. Copyright Museum of London. Disclaimer. This site is maintained by the Museum Systems Team.