Necropoli dell’Isola Sacra. Le ricerche 1968-89 : ripercorrendo un’esperienza

The article reviews methods and results of the research conducted at the Isola Sacra necropolis (1968-1989) under the direction of I. Baldassarre, with the aim of producing an anthropological reading of a Roman necropolis based on the archaeological record. The necropolis extends on both sides of the road (second half of the 1st c. AD) and the clusters of tombs are the result of the dynamics of the necropolis system, with a constant striving for visibility by the buyers of family tombs, in some cases incorporating older burials. The function of family tombs is evident from the epigraphs, the arrangements for funeral rites and the rarity of grave goods, which are found rather in the « poorer » tombs, crowded into the spaces between the chamber tombs. The research also shed light on the structuring of a repertoire of funerary ornaments, a theme of great interest for the freedman class buried here. As part of the growing interest in issues related to Roman funerary ideology and by going back over on the history of a project devised many years ago in a highly stimulating university, the paper seeks to show that a context studied as a whole can contribute to discussion in depth of these issues.