Cremation
Photogallery
Cremation
Cremation involved placing cinerary urns inside tombs, either in the walls or directly in the ground. It would have begun with the lighting of a fire to cremate the body of the deceased. The rite was accompanied by the sacrifice of an ox and a banquet in which it was imagined that the deceased and the deities of the earth, who received the body, would have participated. Once cremation was complete, the burned bones were gathered, washed and placed inside the urn.
In ancient cemeteries there were specific areas for carrying out this type of activity (ustrina), where the coal and pine cones used for feeding the fire were gathered. One of these areas has been unearthed recently by archaeologists, at the centre of the site currently accessible to visitors.