ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIALS FROM GABII (CENTRAL ITALY): KNOWLEDGE OF OFFERINGS AND RITUALS AT THE INFANT BURIALS THROUGH AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

The ancient Latin city of Gabii is situated 18 km (11.2 miles) to the east of Rome (Central Italy) along the modern Via Prenestina. Gabii was a renowned city in Roman times, particularly during the Republican period and there are various influences in the site that can be identified in Roman culture itself. Gabii is also one of the most significant and important archaeological sites in the territory of the Municipality of Rome and due to its characteristics, it represents today an extraordinary research context. From the excavations carried out in the past it is possible to see how, under the soil, the main structures and buildings of the ancient city are still largely preserved. Among the various testimonies of the past, the tombs, and the micro and macro remains that these contain, represent an opportunity to investigate such practices in the context of Early Iron Age and Orientalizing Latium. In particular, the finds from the Area D baby burials of Gabii enriched the existing dataset so far significantly, allowing us to explore funerary ritual behavior in a more systematic way. This work reports the results of the detailed examination of four tombs (Tombs 30, 50, 51 and 52) of archaeological site. The field strategy for the excavation of the tombs was geared from the start towards both the systematic retrieval of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological remains and the sampling for organic residue analysis. Aiming for total recovery, the sediments from the tomb fills were sifted in their entirety as their stratigraphic excavation progressed, and samples were taken for flotation. This careful screening allowed for the detection of concentrations of organic material that represent plant and/or animal depositions. The excavation and removal of the grave goods was carried out following strict protocols for residue sampling, minimizing the risk of organic contamination. Samples were analysed by High Temperature Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (HTGC/MS) and Gas chromatography/Combustion/Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). For each burial, a subset of vessels including both closed and open shapes was selected, such as cups, open bowl without foot, amphoretta, amphora with dots, Kantharos, plate on a foot, olla, and olpe in bucchero. The results demonstrate the still largely unexploited potential of this sort of integrated studies, encouraging us to expand the application of chemical methods to contexts from other well–controlled excavations.