In Narbonne, a necropolis comes back to life

Aerial view of the ancient necropolis of Narbonne being excavated • INRAP/SERVICE DE PRESSE

Narbo Martius (current Narbonne), a Roman colony founded in 118 BC. J.-C., became the capital of the province of Narbonne Gaul, which extended from the Alps to the Pyrenees, and the second port of the Roman Empire in the western Mediterranean, after that of Rome. Suffice to say that the traces left on the landscape are countless.

A thousand graves

A year ago, archaeologists from Inrap (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) announced the discovery of a huge necropolis of 2,000 m ² on the banks of the Robine canal, on the old bed of the Aude whose sediments gradually covered and protected the Roman remains.

Today, these archaeologists present the first results of the excavations they have been carrying out since the summer of 2019. The necropolis, located 600 m from the city limits, includes around 1,000 tombs and was used in the I ^{st and II e centuries after. Thanks to the epitaphs present on the stelae, we know that most of the deceased came from the Italian peninsula.}

The funeral district is essentially made up of cremation tombs, the practice being common at the time, with deposits installed in more or less deep pits. Vases, jugs, lamps, sometimes vials of perfume were also placed there. Libation conduits, which connected the surface of the ground with the burial, allowed the living to transmit their offerings to the deceased.

To better understand the funerary rites of the time, archaeologists have been interested in the ossuary vases which contained the burnt bone fragments. These vases that they “dissect” with dental tools are very varied. Some contain almost all of the bones of the deceased, while others have very little content. Sometimes the presence of a piece of textile suggests that the bones were wrapped in a piece of cloth. The excavation, which benefits from significant funding, is continuing. The future Narbo Via archaeological museum will retrace the history of this ancient Narbonne.