Eastern and Western Necropoleis of Sirmium
About
Two large cemeteries flanked Colonia Flavia Sirmium outside its walls, holding family tombs of ordinary colonists rather than soldiers. Cremation was the standard rite through the 2nd century, before inhumation gradually replaced it from the later 3rd century on. These burial grounds were already in active use when Trajan elevated Sirmium to capital of Pannonia Inferior, decades before the city's famous Tetrarchic-era Christian basilica cemeteries developed nearby.
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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