“Deviant burials” nella Puglia tra l’età del Ferro e l’età romana

In interpreting the circumstances of an archaeological find site, it is vital to notice every tiny trace of human activity. The burial of the dead, in particular, complies with precise social norms. Deviations from these reflect a wish, arising out of a particular fear of death (necrophobia), to distinguish certain graves as ‹abnormal›. The stigmatised dead include, for example, those who have been disposed of in well-shafts, furnaces and mass graves. Others have been placed face-down in the grave, or have had their limbs shackled or weighted down with heavy lumps of rock, or have been dismembered and their body-parts displaced, or betray signs of torture and murder. The presence of spikes and stakes is another indication that a burial is unusual, deviating from the norm. The authors analyse the archaeological evidence of the pre-Roman and Roman period in Apulia and compare it with results already known from other parts of the Mediterranean region and central Europe.