The archaeothanatology of identity : freed-people burials in Nuceria necropolis, Pompeii

Abstract

The thesis examines personal and suvivor expressions of identity through freed-people funerary monuments located in the Pompeian necropoleis. The goal is to show how the deceased were able to manipulate their funerary structures to present specific information, or leave behind messages, about themselves or their families. This paper utilizes the archaeological sub-field of archaeothanatology, and performance theory and impression management theory to examine and interpret several different funerary monuments from the Republican and Imperial periods. This is done by examining aspects such as monument type, location, architectural features and stylistic elements to uncover more subtle details about an individual being commemorated in the monument. The analyses of these featues, reveals that funerary monuments were used as tools to not only preserve memory, but to enhance or increase the social and political positions or reputations of the deceased and their family. The thesis explores the different ways the Pompeian freed-people used aspects such as necropolis location and monument style to reflect their economic means, and how imagery and inscriptions act as identifiers of personal attributes or achievements that the individual wanted to be remembered by or associated with.