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Displaying the Dead: Funerary practices in Roman Lebanon

In August of 113 CE, the family of Gaia Garia Saadne erected a funerary stele in her

memory in the town of Baalbek (Roman Heliopolis) in the central Beqaa Valley. The

stele, made of local limestone, consisted of a Greek inscription below a partially

destroyed bust of Gaia (fig. 1). Little is known about the original location of this stele or

the grave it once marked. Funerary stelae often were reused in the construction of walls,

and many others ended up in the hands of antiquities dealers. The shape of Gaia’s stele,

however, provides some clues about its original position. Its rough and unpolished lower

half was probably meant to be inserted into a hole in the ground or into a rectangular cut

in the bedrock. The stele most likely stood on top of Gaia’s grave or marked its entrance.

The text provides us with the full name of the deceased and the date of her burial.1 Greek

was the common language for inscriptions in this region, although soldiers and Roman

colonists in the Beirut and Baalbek region preferred Latin. Despite being headless, the

bust of the stele tells us that the sculptor was familiar with sculptural trends in vogue in

the Roman world. Under Roman influence, the practice of adding an image of the

deceased in the form of a bust had become a popular aspect in funerary art.

This description of Gaia’s stele forms a starting point for a discussion of funerary

practices in Lebanon during the Roman period (64 BCE to ca. 400 CE). The funerary

material from these centuries is particularly rich and diverse, and provides valuable

insights into life and death in ancient Lebanon, at that time part of the Roman province of

Syria. On the one hand, the burial practices demonstrate continuity with older, pre-

Roman traditions regarding treatment of the body, the provision of gravegoods, and the

separation of burial grounds from residential space. On the other hand, important changes

occurred in funerary architecture. The tombs now not only incorporated new styles and

elaborate forms of decoration in paint and sculpture, but were also often constructed

aboveground and at visible locations in landscape. These new elements demonstrate both

 1 Full text: “in the year 424, the 28 of Loos [113 CE], Gaia Garia Saadne", Rey-Coquais 1967, 50-51;

Wiegand 1921, 40. 

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2nd-3rd c CE (chart 1).5

                                                       

the cultural influence from the larger Roman world on local practices and the rise of new

ideas about the role of funerary architecture in Lebanon.

Location

Multiple Roman cemeteries surrounded Baalbek, and Gaia’s stele could have originated

from one of these. Previous explorations and the new research by the Lebanese

Antiquities Service (DGA) and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) have

identified cemeteries and individual tombs to the south, north, and east of the city.2

Another burial ground was situated at Douris, 1.5 - 2 km west of Roman Baalbek along

the road to Zahle (fig. 2).3 These tombs perhaps represent the western extension of the

burial grounds of Baalbek, or belonged to a nearby village. In total 46 tombs are

published from Baalbek and Douris, dating from the 1st to the 4th c CE, with a peak in

numbers in the 2nd and 3rd c (chart 1).

Many of the tombs at Baalbek and Douris flanked the major road leading to and from the

settlement. This was a characteristic feature of urban cemeteries throughout Lebanon in

the Roman period. The prime example comes from the al-Bass cemetery outside of Tyre

(Roman Tyrus), a Roman and Byzantine cemetery (late 1st-7th c CE) with at least 50

tombs (chart 1).4 This burial ground stretched out on either side of the paved road and

was the first thing encountered by travelers to and from the city (fig. 3). The roadside

location emphasized the prominence of these tombs, which were also visible because of

their large size and aboveground construction. This was a common feature for urban

cemeteries, but may have been less important in the case of rural burial sites. At Kamid

el-Loz in the southern Beqaa valley, for instance, the graves were not grouped along a

main road but instead surrounded the houses on the northeastern and western slopes of

the tell. Archaeologists have published six graves from this site, probably dating from the

 2 Van Ess 1998, 44-49; Van Ess et al. 1999, 38-40; Rey-Coquais 1967, 146-173; Wiegand 1921, 34-41.  3 Van Ess & Petersen 2003. 4 Chéhab 1984, 1985, 1986. See also: Bikai et al. 1996; de Jong 2010.  5 Heinz et al. 2004. See also http://www.vorderasien.uni-freiburg.de/kamid_2002.html.  

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(hypogeum), consisting of an e

                                                       

In Roman Lebanon, the tombs always lay outside the inhabited areas but never far

removed from the settlement. Rather than being buried in remote, isolated, and/or

invisible locations, the dead were part of the fabric of the town. An aqueduct, circus,

monumental arch, and perhaps a shrine for Apollo surrounded the al-Bass cemetery in

Tyre (fig. 3). Archaeologists uncovered several funerary stelae and a hypogeum close to

the theater of Baalbek, on the grounds of the current Palmyra Hotel. In Beirut (Roman

Berytus), a burial ground extended on the eastern slopes of the Ras Beirut hill, just south

and west of the Roman city and close to the presumed location of the circus. The

presence of the modern city makes it difficult to comment on the proximity to the

settlement of the other burial grounds of Beirut, on the Ashrafieh hill and further west on

the Ras Beirut slopes. At least 71 tombs have been reported from Beirut, dating between

the 1st c CE and the Byzantine period (chart 1).6

Tomb types

The communities of Roman Lebanon employed a wide variety of architectural types for

burial. Frescos, reliefs, and freestanding sculpture adorned the tomb walls. The

cemeteries bore little resemblance to each other, and within the cemeteries, tombs of

every size and shape arose in close proximity. At Baalbek, for instance, aside from the

stelae mentioned above and the related, inscribed rounded or oval gravestones (cippi),

archaeologists have also encountered pitgraves, stone coffins placed in pits, and rock-cut

chamber tombs. The discovery of several architectural and sculptural elements,

furthermore, hints at the existence of built (aboveground) funerary architecture, such as

mausolea, in the cemeteries of Baalbek.

One encounters the same tomb types elsewhere in Lebanon. Pitgraves, either dug in the

soil or cut in the bedrock and covered with stone slabs, represent the simplest and likely

most common type. As mentioned, Gaia’s funerary stele from the introduction perhaps

once marked a pitgrave. A second, common type was the rock-cut chamber tomb

ntrance corridor (dromos) or entrance pit, leading to one or

 6 Du Mesnil du Buisson 1924-1925; Jidejian 1993; de Jong 2001; Mouterde 1929; Stuart 2001; Ward-

Perkins 1969. For a collection of lead sarcophagi from Beirut, see Chéhab 1934 and 1935. 

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several chambers with burial in niches in the sidewalls (fig. 4). These niches (loculi)

often were set in an arched recession in the wall (arcosolium, fig. 5). Burial also occurred

in pits in the chamber floor and in stone coffins placed alongside the walls.

Stone coffins in general were ubiquitous and appeared in a variety of contexts. At

Baalbek, Douris, and Kamid el-Loz, for instance, archaeologists discovered plain and

decorated sarcophagi placed in pits, alone or in pairs. Given the distribution among

Beqaa sites, this type of burial perhaps represents a regional trend that was popular in the

Beqaa Valley. In other instances, sarcophagi stood aboveground on a short pedestal or

high podium (fig. 6). Most coffins were made locally in limestone and basalt, but the

coastal sites of Lebanon also showcased marble and granite sarcophagi, imported from

Asia Minor, Egypt, and Greece, and decorated with sculptural relief.7 The import and

transport of these heavy coffins was likely a precarious and expensive affair.

The cemeteries at Beirut and Tyre also included a new, composite type of tomb: the

funerary enclosure. These consisted of large enclosed spaces housing different burial

types, most commonly in the form of burial niches in rectangular platforms and

freestanding sarcophagi (fig. 7). This type has, thus far, only been excavated in Beirut

and Tyre and possibly represents a regional type popular on the Lebanese coast.

Many funerary stelae originated from Roman Lebanon, but unfortunately none were

found in connection with their actual tomb. The stelae often included an image in relief,

usually depicting the deceased.8 A rare type is the painted stele, such as the one of Robia

found in Sidon and currently on display in the National Museum of Beirut. Images were

often combined with inscriptions, in Latin in the areas with high densities of Roman

colonists and soldiers (Beirut and the Beqaa) and in Greek elsewhere in Lebanon. These

short epitaphs included a name, date of death, and a short invocation (i.e., “farewell” or

 7 The largest collection of imported sarcophagi comes from Tyre. See for instance Ward-Perkins 1969 and

Linant de Bellesfonds 1985. 8 Parlasca (1981) describes a collection of Roman stelae. 

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“to the gods”). The longer inscriptions specified who was allowed to be buried in the

tomb, and the penalties for disturbing the graves.

Most tomb-types continued pre-Roman practices, but there are some important

distinctions with the earlier material. The Roman tombs were on average larger and more

elaborately adorned than before, and often included expensive building materials such as

imported marble. The inhabitants of Roman Lebanon, in other words, directed a great

deal of resources to the construction of the grave, both in terms of labor and material.

Several elaborately painted hypogea in the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon are good examples

of the attention spent on the decoration of the final resting place.9 The presence of over

100 imported sarcophagi from the al-Bass cemetery at Tyre alone illustrates that this

trend was not limited to a narrow section of society. Even simple pitgraves sometimes

included a massive cover in the shape of a gabled sarcophagus-lid.10 Such covers also

made the pitgrave more visible, exemplifying another important difference with pre-

Roman practices. The Roman assemblage added a new aspect of visibility to the funerary

architecture, achieved by construction aboveground or adding an aboveground portion

(such as a stele or door), and by a prominent roadside location. Conspicuous display was

an essential aspect of the cemeteries of Roman Lebanon, and the tombs advertized the

economic and social position of its owners and users.

Inside the tomb

Occasionally archaeologists have encountered undisturbed and unrobbed tombs, which,

although their number is small, offer an insight into the customs concerning the inclusion

of gravegoods and the treatment of the body. The gravegood assemblages tended to be

small and mainly consisted of items of adornment, small vessels holding valuable liquids,

and personal belongings (fig. 8). The assemblages were largely similar to pre-Roman sets

of gravegoods, although they now included more and more precious items.

 9 At Deb’aal (Hajjar 1965), Djel el-Amed (Le Lasseur 1922), el-Awatin (Dunand 1965), and Sidon (Barbet

et al. 1997). 10 For instance at Kasr Naus (Krencker & Zchietzschmann 1938, 19). 

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members, mostly within the

                                      

The total number of objects per individual was around two items. Common objects

included gold, silver, bronze, and stone jewelry, and fragments of clothing. In addition to

adorning the body, jewelry possibly also had an apotropaic function, protecting the body

from harm after death. Scholars point in particular to the golden facemasks and face

covers found in tombs at Baalbek, Beirut (fig. 8), Deb’aal, Douris, and Tyre in this

context.11 Objects with magical properties, such as amulets in the graves of Tyre, served

similar purposes. Vessels, mostly in glass and less frequently in pottery, represent the

second most common category. Often one or two vessels were placed by the feet of the

deceased. Small bottles such as the one with an elongated neck (unguentarium) in fig. 8

originally held perfumes, cosmetic substances, scented oils, and other types of ointment.

Less frequent finds are coins and terracotta oil lamps. One grave in Bey 022 yielded four

lead envelopes that perhaps served as curse tablets. Similar tablets come from graves

located close to a circus, and possibly were intended to curse the racers and their horses

on the racetrack.12

Inhumation was standard practice. Cremation in the Roman East was generally associated

with the Roman military but thus far no examples have been published from Lebanon.

There was a general concern for keeping the body intact, through textile wrapping and

the use of wooden or terracotta coffins, and, from the mid-late 2nd c CE onward, lead

sarcophagi. The tomb types included forms that were designed to hold several people

(hypogeum, funerary enclosure) or to hold a single person (pitgrave, sarcophagus).

However, all types frequently included many more individuals than the original shape

would suggest. Reuse or co-burial was common practice, and multiple individuals could

be placed on top of each other or side-by-side. In other cases, the bones of older burials

were swept to the side to make place for new ones. One funerary platform in Beirut held

35 people in seven loculi, one of which contained nine to ten individuals. We can only

speculate about the relationship between the people buried, but they were most likely

family members. Epitaphs and portrait busts often refer to the co-burial of family

nucleated family (i.e., husband and wife, parents and

                  11 See for instance Fick 1999. 12 Heintz 1998, 337-342.  

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purposes, such as a role in pur

                                                       

children, and siblings).13 The skeletal evidence in the graves at Beirut (BEY 022)

illustrates that adults and children, men and women shared the grave. Men feature more

prominently as dedicators or beneficiary of tombs in the inscriptions, but women could

dedicate as well, for instance Zenodoros’s wife who honored her husband by financing

the construction of a large tomb in Baalbek.14 Those who died prematurely and in

particular young children often received longer and more elaborate epitaphs.

Funerary rites

We know very little about the belief system regarding death in Roman Lebanon. Few

textual sources have survived and the funerary inscriptions remain mostly silent about

what happened after death and the relationship between the living and the dead.

Divinities or divine spirits are rarely invoked, at least not in way that is recognizable to

modern scholars. The inscriptions and funerary portraiture, however, do indicate that the

owners went to great lengths to individualize the tomb, thereby specifying who was

allowed to be buried inside and who was not. Whereas this practice likely was connected

to inheritance and ownership issues, implicitly it demonstrates fear of abuse of the burial

space. The heavy sarcophagus lids and tomb doors also hint at concerns about the

improper use of tombs. One inscription in Tyre explicitly warns that the offender (“who

does something hostile [opens] the tomb”) has to pay a significant amount to the imperial

treasury.15

The body was adorned with jewelry and magical objects. Their inclusion illustrates that

the body was at risk and in need of protection. The practice of placing coins in the hands

or by the feet, and at least in one case in Beirut, in the mouth, is suggestive of a belief in

Charon’s crossing in Greek mythology, although the practice may have Near Eastern

antecedents. The purpose of the vessels, especially those holding valuable liquids, is less

certain. A reduction of smell seems likely, but the fragrances perhaps had more ritual

ification.

 13 Most funerary insc iptions from Lebanon are published in Rey-Coquais 1967, 1977, and 2006. r14 Wiegand 1921, 39. 15 Rey-Coquais 1977 (#100). 

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To summarize, the tomb and the body were primary elements in funerary ritual. As we

have seen, the body was left intact, through inhumation, and in place, by reburial on top

of older remains (rather than removal of bones). The tomb played a role in the permanent

safekeeping of the bones. Several small altars come from the al-Bass cemetery at Tyre,

and the communal areas of the hypogea and funerary enclosures were large enough to

conduct rites such as sacrifice, libation, and banquets. At present, however, we can only

speculate about the existence of such practices.

Conclusions

The tombs of Roman Lebanon form a rich and heterogeneous collection, and offer

insights into the funerary beliefs of the villagers and townsmen and their rituals of

commemoration and memorialization. As we have seen, the location and construction

methods of the tombs often made them highly visible. While traveling to and from the

cities, towns, and villages, one would encounter funerary space. Since most people lived

in nucleated settlements rather than in dispersed farms, their daily walk to the gardens

and agricultural fields would traverse the cemeteries. The visibility of the family tomb

and the increased amount of resources poured into its construction indicates that funerary

architecture played a new role. This conspicuous display was perhaps connected to the

altered circumstances of Roman rule, and the increased importance of ancestry and

lineage for social advancement and legitimization of position. The fact that the placement

of gravegoods and the treatment of the body continued largely unaltered from pre-Roman

centuries indicates that this new role was largely limited to the architecture of the tomb.

Although executed in local style, the portraits on the funerary stelae demonstrate the

adoption of a mode of representation that was familiar throughout the Roman empire.

The same was true with regards to the imported sarcophagi, which, although embedded in

pre-Roman Levantine traditions, align with trends in elite burial all over the Roman

empire. At the same time, the funerary enclosures on the coast, the sarcophagi in pits in

the Beqaa, and the painted tombs in the hinterland of Sidon and Tyre, highlight the

regionalization of funerary styles. Therefore, while the inhabitants of Lebanon

increasingly integrated into the centralized military, economic, and political structure of

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the Roman empire, as is known for the period between the 1st and 3rd c CE, distinct

regional trends in funerary practices started to blossom. In the end, although rooted in

older traditions, new, original forms of burial arose in Roman Lebanon.

Lidewijde de Jong

Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology

Department of Classics, UNC-Chapel Hill

Murphey Hall, CB#3145

Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3145, USA

ldejong@email.unc.edu

 

 

 

Site Type and number of tombs

Baalbek

stele (15), cippus (5), sarcophagus (4), mausoleum (2?), hypogeum (2),

statue base (1)

Beirut sarcophagus (40), hypogeum (26), funerary enclosure (2), pitgrave (2),

stele (1)

Douris sarcophagus in pitgrave (15), stele (1), bust (1)

Kamid el-Loz pitgrave (4), sarcophagus in pitgrave (2)

Tyre funerary enclosure (39), hypogeum (7), sarcophagus (3), stele (1)16

C

 

hart 1 Type and number of tombs of sites mentioned in text

                                                        16 Additional funerary inscriptions are published in Rey-Coquais 2006.

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Citations

A. Barbet, P.-L. Gatier, N.N. Lewis, 1997, “Un tombeau peint inscrit de Sidon”, Syria 74,

p. 141-160.

P.M. Bikai, W. J. Fulco, J. Marchand 1996, Tyre: The Shrine of Apollo, National Press:

Amman.

M.H. Chéhab, 1934, “Sarcophages en plomb du musée national Libanais”, Syria 15, p.

337-350.

M.H. Chéhab, 1935, “Sarcophages en plomb du musée national Libanais”, Syria 16, p.

59-60.

M.H. Chéhab, 1984, “Fouilles de Tyr; La Nécropole, II: Descriptions des fouilles”,

Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth 34, A. Maisonneuve, Paris.

M.H. Chéhab, 1985, “Fouilles de Tyr; La Nécropole, III: Descriptions des fouilles”,

Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth 35, A. Maisonneuve, Paris.

M.H. Chéhab, 1986, “Fouilles de Tyr; La Nécropole, IV: Descriptions des fouilles”,

Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth 36, A. Maisonneuve, Paris.

M. Dunand, 1965, “Tombe peinte dans la campagne de Tyr”, Bulletin du Musée de

Beyrouth 18, p. 5-51.

M. van Ess, 1998, Heliopolis Baalbek, 1898-1998. Forschungen in Ruinen, DAI/DGA,

Beirut.

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M. van Ess, M. Gelin, S. Hakimian, T. Rifai, 1999, “Graben, dokumentieren und

restaurieren. Deutsche, französische und libanesische Archäologen in Baalbek”,

in M. van Ess and Th. Weber (eds.), Baalbek. Im Bann Römischer

Monumentalarchitektur, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, p. 14-40.

M. van Ess and L. Petersen, Lars, 2003, “Excavation of a Late Roman necropolis in

Baalbek – Douris”, BAAL 7, p. 83-107.

S.M.E. Fick, 1999, “Gesichter aus gold, die den Glanz der Sonne widerspiegeln”, in E.M.

Ruprechtsberger (ed.), Vom Steinbruch zum Jupitertempel von Heliopolis/Baalbek

(Libanon), NORDICO-Museum der Stadt Linz, Linz, p. 77-97.

J. Hajjar, 1965, “Un hypogée Romain a Deb'aal dans la Région de Tyr”, Bulletin du

Musée de Beyrouth 18, p. 61-104.

M. Heinz, A. Gross, E. John, L. Kirsch, S. Kulemann-Ossen, L. van Lengerich, Ch.

Leschke, J. Nieling, C. von Rüden, E. Wagner, 2004, “Kamid el-Loz in the Beqa'a

plain/Lebanon. Excavations in 2001, 2002 and 2004”, BAAL 8, p. 83-117.

F. Heintz, 1998, “Circus curses and their archaeological contexts”, JRA 11, p. 337-342.

N. Jidejian, 1993, Beyrouth à travers les ages, Dar el-Mashreq Publishers, Beirut.

L. de Jong, 2001, “Aspects of Roman Burial Practices in Beirut: excavations at BEY

022”, ARAM-Periodical 13, p. 293-312.

L. de Jong, 2010, “Performing Death in Tyre: The Life and Afterlife of a Roman

Cemetery in the Province of Syria”, AJA 114 (4), p. 597-630.

D. Krencker and W. Zschietzschmann, 1938, Römische Tempel in Syrien, Walter de

Gruyter, Berlin.

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D. le Lasseur, 1922, “Mission archéologique à Tyr”, Syria 3, p. 1-26.

P. Linant de Bellefonds, 1985, Sarcophages Attiques de la Nécropole de Tyr. Une étude

iconographique, Éditions Recherche sur les Civilisations, Paris.

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de la société française des fouilles archéologiques 6, p. 81-134.

R. Mouterde, 1929, “Sarcophages de plomb trouvés en Syrie”, Syria 10, p. 238-251.

K. Parlasca, 1981, Syrische Grabreliefs hellenistischer und römischer Zeit. Fundgruppe

und Probleme, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein.

J.-P. Rey-Coquais, 1967, IGLS Tome VI Baalbek et Beqa’. P. Geuthner, Paris.

J.-P. Rey-Coquais, 1977, “Inscriptions de la nécropole”, Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth

29, A. Maisonneuve, Paris.

J.-P. Rey-Coquais, 2006, Inscriptions Grecques et Latines de Tyr, Ministère de la

Culture/Direction Générale des Antiquités, Beirut.

B. Stuart, 2001, “Cemeteries in Beirut”, Aram 13, p. 87-112.

J. B. Ward-Perkins, 1969, “The Imported Sarcophagi of Roman Tyre”, Bulletin du Musée

de Beyrouth 22, p. 109-145.

Th. Wiegand, 1921, Baalbek. Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen und Untersuchungen in den

Jahren 1898 bis 1905. Erster Band, Walter de Gruyter & co, Berlin.

Fig. 1 Funerary stele of Gaia, Baalbek (taken by author).

Fig. 2 Map of Lebanon with sites mentioned in text (drawn by author).

Fig. 3 Plan of Tyre (drawn by author).

Fig. 4 Hypogeum at Baalbek, scale is approximate (drawn by author, after Wiegand

1940, Abb. 18).

Fig. 5 Arcosolium graves in hypogeum at Baalbek (taken by author).

Fig. 6 View of Al-Bass cemetery at Tyre (to W) with sarcophagi aligning the road (taken

by author)

Fig. 7 Funerary enclosure at Tyre (complex I) with funerary platform and sarcophagi

(taken by author)

Fig. 8 Glass unguentarium and gold facemask from Beirut, Bey 022 sn2 (drawn by

author, after de Jong 2001, fig. 8).