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New study to further understanding of mysterious Roman burial practice

New study to further understanding of mysterious Roman burial practice

Posted on 4 March 2025

A new £1 million project will investigate the mysterious Roman burial practice of pouring liquid gypsum over the clothed bodies of adults and children laid to rest in stone or lead coffins before burial.

Members of the team inspect a fragmentarily preserved gypsum burial in a stone coffin from Pollington

The three-year project, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), aims to explore all aspects of the funeral custom in York and Yorkshire in the 3rd/4th centuries, including the social and cultural context of the people whose bodies were given this elite mortuary treatment.

As the liquid gypsum - a mineral used in making various types of cement and plaster - hardened around the bodies and they then broke down, a negative cavity formed that preserved the original position and contours of the dead. The imprint of shrouds, clothing, and footwear also survives in the gypsum, providing precious evidence for perishable materials that rarely are preserved in Roman graves.

Researchers say it is not yet clear why and for whom this ritual was chosen, but it appears to have been a custom associated with people of high status. Traces of aromatic resins from the Mediterranean and Arabia found earlier in three of the gypsum burials in York indicate the use of costly and exotic substances in the clothing and wrappings, substances available only to the elite.

3D scanning

Professor Maureen Carroll, from the University of York’s Department of Archaeology, said: “We aim to relate the gypsum bodies in Yorkshire to mortuary customs of wrapping and anointing the body as part of lavish funerary displays from the 3rd century onwards that are also known in Roman Italy, France, and Germany.

“Together with Heritage360, we are 3D-scanning a wide range of the body negatives and textile imprints in the gypsum casings to produce virtual burial reconstructions in detail. These enable us in a most spectacular way to see or reimagine the dead for the first time since the lids on the coffins were closed almost 2000 years ago.”

Roman gypsum burials of varying types have been noted elsewhere in Europe and North Africa, but they are particularly notable in Britain, with a concentration of at least 64 such burials of this type recorded since the late 19th century in and around York.

Genetic ancestry

More than 20 complete and fragmentary casings and nine skeletons from York, Doncaster-Pollington, Castleford, and Sherburn in Elmet have been chosen for study and analysis.

Professor Michelle Alexander, from the University of York’s Department of Archaeology, said: “With this material, the team aims to determine the age, sex, health and genetic ancestry of the individuals, reconstruct their diet, and ascertain whether these people were non-locals, perhaps bringing this striking custom with them.”

The project will generate new knowledge about the nature and function of burial textiles, as they are a clear reflection of the social status of the people in them. Textile imprints and fragments will be studied to determine the types of fibres and the quality of weaves, from linen to wool.

Clothing and shrouds

Dr Jackie Mosely, from the University of York’s Department of Chemistry, said: “Mass spectrometry and Raman spectrometry will be applied to the surface of all the casings to detect costly aromatic resins such as frankincense from Arabia that might have been packed into the clothing or shrouds to temporarily preserve the soft tissue of the body.

“The application of this method should also detect dyes that once gave the textiles colour and value, especially if costly purple dyes from the eastern Mediterranean were used.”

Exhibitions

Through collaboration with the museum partners, York Museums Trust, Heritage Doncaster, Wakefield Museum, and MAP Archaeological Practice, the project will make possible public access to their collections through digital capture, videos, and exhibitions in the coming years.

Andrew Woods, Senior Curator at the Yorkshire Museum, said: "The Yorkshire Museum holds some of the most remarkable examples of Roman gypsum burials in the UK. We are very excited to be working with the University to build our understanding of Roman burial rituals as well as capturing a glimpse into the lives of those people."

For more information on the project, see seeingthedead.ac.uk