Vise Grobalja and Pecine Necropolis
About
Two adjoining cemeteries, Vise Grobalja and Pecine, grew up along Viminacium's southern approach from the mid-1st century onward, with cremation and inhumation practiced side by side from the start. Rescue digs since 1977 have logged over 10,700 graves and 7,000 coins between the two fields alone. By 117 the necropolis had already been in continuous use for roughly six decades, filled with modest cremation urns and the first brick-vaulted family tombs.
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
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 →