Avenches – Roman Museum – Permanent Exhibition

Ground Floor The Gallo-Roman Population of Switzerland and Their View of Death
The markers for burial places varied considerably: stone or wooden tombstones,
simple stones, small mounds as well as “aedicules” or mausoleums. In most cases
tombstones were engraved with an epitaph and sometimes further decorations
were added. The beginning of the inscription Dis Manibus, often abbreviated to DM,
dedicated a grave to the Manes of the departed or to the spirits of the dead; then
followed the name of the deceased, sometimes his or her filiation, age, profession
or training, honorific titles and, finally, the name of the person who erected the
monument. The deceased was usually represented alone or perhaps accompanied
by his wife or his son; sometimes he was depicted at work. In the Roman Empire the
funerary portraits assumed the function of preserving the memory of the deceased.
Some tombstones were decorated with symbols referring to the immortality of
the soul: laurel leaves, birds, celestial bodies. Wealthy people often paid tribute to
their memory by erecting monuments with the statues of the deceased. This can be
seen in the cemetery of En Chaplix. Such monuments were surrounded by gardens,
embellished with statues and sometimes water basins and protected by walls.
The tomb and its surroundings were looked upon as being sacrosanct and holy
and they remained the property of the deceased. The cult of the deceased included
funerary celebrations held at regular intervals on the occasion of the parentalia
(from 13th to 21st February), at which food and drink were given to the dead and
libations (act of pouring out a liquid as a sacrifice) were offered.
Several necropolises are known at Aventicum. The most impressive and richest
of them seems to have been that at the west gate where the remains of several
small funerary chapels, a considerable number of tombstones and the burial place
of a young Christian girl were found. The port necropolis, situated near the lake
and containing approximately forty modest burials, may have been reserved for
the workers in the port. The En Chaplix necropolis, situated beside the road outside
the town at the northeast gate, contained approximately two hundred burials,
which, according to the offerings, must have belonged to people of a higher socioeconomic
standing.
1. Tombstone of Visellia Firma (1)
Erected by her parents. The little girl died aged one year and 50 days.
Limestone. En Chaplix necropolis.
2nd century AD. Catalogue of inscriptions no. 13.
2. Pinecones as tomb decorations
Placed on top of a little mound covering a tomb. Pinecones symbolised immortality.
Limestone. West gate necropolis.
3. Tombstone of Iulia Censorina
Erected by her father.
Limestone. Second quarter of the 1st century AD. Catalogue of inscriptions no. 15.
4. Tombstone of Marcus Alpinius Virilis (2)
Limestone. West gate necropolis.
1st – 3rd centuries AD. Catalogue of inscriptions no. 14.
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Ground Floor