The Analysis of Late Antiquity (c. 4th to 6th century AD) Human Remains from Veii-Campetti, Italy

Summary

Veii was a prominent ancient Etruscan city, which eventually fell to Roman rule in 396 BC. After its fall, Veii was abandoned and then turned into a municipality during the rule of Augustus. Within the site of Veii, is the Campetti complex south-west, which houses several different structures. In the earlier periods of occupation (circa the late 7th to 4th century BC), the archaeological area functioned as an urban sanctuary, in which water played a major role. When Augustus turned it into a municipality, the site functioned more as a public space where baths and cisterns were built. On the many water-related structures it is interpreted as a thermal, therapeutic and religious complex. By Late Antiquity (circa 4th to 6th century AD), the site had lost its importance as a bathing complex and water cults and transitioned into a more rural occupied area. In this later period (circa 4th to 6th century AD) of occupation a cistern was excavated which held many layers; one of which contained the remains of sixteen individuals. This paper will report the bioarchaeological analysis of the human remains recovered from the cistern and provide a possible explanation for the deposition of human remains.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

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