Necropolis of Apollonia
About
Tombs cut into the hills around Apollonia held generations of the port city's dead, including rock-hewn hypogea reused for centuries after their first burials. Rescue excavations in 2012, prompted by coastal erosion and nearby development, uncovered three such hypogea and twenty rectangular tombs, some floored in mosaic. Roughly a third of ancient Apollonia now lies beneath the Mediterranean, the same waters that have long threatened the western necropolis. The cemetery had already served the city for hundreds of years by the time Trajan died in August 117 CE.
What happened here
The dead are outside the walls because the law requires it, so the approach to every town is lined with them. Tombs face the road in rows, grand ones in front and simpler markers behind, all of them addressed to the passer-by. Burial clubs let ordinary people and slaves pay a monthly subscription for a place in a communal vault and a decent funeral; the alternative is a pit. Families come out on anniversaries and at the February festival, eat at the graveside, and pour wine into a pipe set into the ground. Undertakers, stonecutters and letter-cutters work nearby and compete on price. Ground is bought by the foot, and the frontage on the road costs the most.
Sources
Nearby
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Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →