The Longue Durée of Funeral Culture: A Recently Discovered Burial Precinct at Pergamon

For the first time in the archaeological exploration of Pergamon, a burial precinct dating back to the Hellenistic period and oriented towards an arterial road was excavated in 2020 on the northern slope of the city hill. This important finding is a substantial enrichment of our knowledge of the funerary culture of the upper and middle strata of Pergamenian society. The precinct consists of two circular buildings and a terrace in between them, which is formed by three cist- and pit-graves containing cremations. They can be dated through finds and 14C-AMS from between the 3rd/2nd century BC and the 1st century AD, thereby attesting to the continuous use and reuse of a burial precinct over the centuries. The meticulous excavation yielded detailed information about burial practices and post-burial activities. An artistically refined golden earring from a disturbed burial shows that luxurious funerary ensembles were not limited to the exceptional tumuli burials at Hellenistic Pergamon.

Keywords:

Pergamon, burial terrace, cremation, grave inventory vessels, zoomorphic earring