CORDIS - Forschungsergebnisse der EU
CORDIS

Money, Rituality and Tombs in northern Italy during Late antiquity

Projektbeschreibung

Münzen für die Toten

Der Charonspfennig war ein weit verbreiteter Bestattungsritus in der griechisch-römischen Welt. Dabei wird eine Münze in den Mund oder in der Nähe des Körpers der verstorbenen Person abgelegt als Zahlung für Charon, den Fährmann der Unterwelt. Das EU-finanzierte Projekt MORTI wird den Charonspfennig und die Entwicklung nachklassischer Mentalität im Laufe der Zeit erforschen. Konkret wird das Projekt Methoden der aufgezeichneten und statistischen multivariaten Korrespondenz anwenden, um Hunderte Münzen aus über 120 Nekropolen aus dem 3. bis 11. Jahrhundert zu analysieren. So werden Einblicke in die Verwendung und Bedeutung des Münzgelds in nachklassischen Bestattungsriten gewährt. Außerdem wird das Projekt die Beziehung zwischen dem Münzgeld und persönlichen Merkmalen der Toten, wie Alter, Geschlecht oder sozialer und religiöser Zugehörigkeit, untersuchen.

Ziel

Placing coins as grave offerings was one of the most common, and is among the most widely studied, funerary pagan practices in the Roman world. Charon’s obol was the toll that souls had to pay to be ferried to the netherworld. The deposition of coins in tombs did not cease with the Christianisation of the Roman world, and the extension, prevalence (in terms of geographical areas, types of burial, etc.) and meaning of this practice during the Middle Ages are unclear. The main aim of MORTI is to interpret the use and meaning of coinage in post-classical funerary practices through its full archaeological contextualisation and the study of its relationship with the personal traits of the individuals they were buried with (sex, age, social and religious affiliation, etc.). Northern Italy is an ideal region where to carry out this project; it is no only a key region to understand the transformations undergone by the Mediterranean world after the fall of the Roman Empire (militarisation of society and settlements, Gothic and Lombard kingdoms, the struggle between Arrians and Catholics, commercial exchange, etc.); it has also been subject to specific studies about post-classical funerary practices (CAMIS, CARE) leading to over 15,000 data entries that are of interest for the project. MORTI will use this record and statistical multivariate correspondence methods to analyse circa 800 coins from over 120 necropolis dated to between the 3rd and 11th centuries. This analysis will specifically examine the phenomenon of Charon’s obol, and more broadly the characteristics of funerary ritual and the evolution of post-classical mentalities over time. MORTI will create new links between numismatics and funerary archaeology, as well as opening a wide array of research and professional avenues to the applicant.

Koordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA
Netto-EU-Beitrag
€ 171 473,28
Adresse
VIA 8 FEBBRAIO 2
35122 Padova
Italien

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Region
Nord-Est Veneto Padova
Aktivitätstyp
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Gesamtkosten
€ 171 473,28