Descrizione del progetto
Posizionamento delle monete sui defunti
L’obolo di Caronte era un’usanza funeraria estremamente diffusa nel mondo greco-romano. Consisteva nel porre una moneta nella bocca o accanto al corpo del defunto come compenso a Caronte, il traghettatore degli Inferi. Il progetto MORTI, finanziato dall’UE, esaminerà l’usanza dell’obolo di Caronte e l’evoluzione delle mentalità post-classiche nel corso del tempo. In particolare, il progetto impiegherà metodi multivariati di corrispondenza statistici e di registrazione per analizzare centinaia di monete rinvenute in oltre 120 necropoli risalenti al periodo compreso tra il III e l’XI secolo. Sarà quindi possibile far luce sull’impiego e sul significato delle monete nelle pratiche funerarie del periodo post-classico. Il progetto analizzerà inoltre i rapporti tra l’uso delle monete e le singole caratteristiche dei defunti, a partire dall’età, dal genere oltre che dall’affiliazione sociale e religiosa.
Obiettivo
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.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
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Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
35122 Padova
Italia