Recently discovered lead coffins from Viminacium (Moesia Superior)

Abstract

Burials in lead coffins have been sporadically recorded in Viminacium (Moesia Superior). They originate from four necropolises that can be roughly classified into the period from the 2nd to the 4th century. This paper presents twelve lead coffins from recent excavations. They were found directly in a pit without construction, or in a construction of bricks. Lead coffins were often ornamented with different linear-geometric motifs, or figural depiction in one rare instance. A workshop can be expected to have existed in Viminacium for the production of lead objects for various purposes such as coffins and many other finds that have been found in large numbers. In some of the coffins, items have been preserved. These include jewellery made of gold, ceramic vessels, glass bottles, bone finds, etc. In nine of them, the skeletal remains of the deceased were completely or at least partially preserved. Included in the paper is an anthropological analysis of the skeletal remains of those deceased. Based on the anthropological analysis, it can be seen that the deceased were mostly children (six cases), while in three cases they were adults.