The overall objective of this project is to shed light on the religious and social conditions of the inhabitants of Pompeii through investigation of sepulchral areas and necropoleis. A very important part is a systematic investigation of _columella_ gravestones. This initial part of the project is limited to the burial plot of the _gens Calventii_ (Area B Sud Porta di Nocera). This burial plot is a rectangular area of 3.40 x 4.34 m with only _columella_ gravestones, on the contrary to other sepulchral areas around the Pompeian necropoleis, where the _columellae_ are found in combination with other types of graves in a more complex architectonic context, and the later gravestones are placed in an unusual ∩-form, which hypothetical could indicate the return to earlier ritual practices. Our initial research of the burial plot in 2005 consisted in optical investigation of _columella_ gravestones from this sepulchral area, extraction and preliminary analysis of possible pigments from seventeen _columellae_, and a limited excavation of five trenches, one of them indicating probably an _ustrinum_. A major discovery is that _columella_ gravestones originally were painted since samples from seventeen _columellae_ all reveal pigments of paint. Through the analysis of pigments, the surface survey and excavation of a limited area I am focusing on three different dimensions, all of them of the same importance and significance: a) the iconographic dimension of _columella_ gravestones, b) the ritual space of _columella_ gravestones and c) links of change and continuity in funeral rituals. (Mónica Saldías)

On September of 2008 we have continued with the investigation of the sepulchral area of the _gens Calventii_. A brief and limited excavation by the north-east side – preliminary defined as the _ustrinum_ - has been done in order to confirm the function of this area in the funeral ritual. By the very north-east angle where the concentration of charcoal is most extreme, the following fragments of pottery have been found: 1. Handle of tableware cup or jug from between 30 B.C. and 40 A.C. with decoration lines, usually found in funeral contexts and often produced for funeral usage. 2. Fragment of a base of black burnished tableware plate from the Republican period, before 30 B.C. 3. Fragment of a base of a relatively large vessel 4. Fragment of amphorae 5. Fragment of a base of a red burnished cooking plate (to bake bread and cook beans), probably from the Republican period. Also small remains of, presumably, textile from a coin were removed in order to analyze them at the Ångström Laboratory at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. It was not possible to identify these remains because of the very small amounts, but they were not textile. About twenty liters of soil was sampled from the north-east side of the sepulchral area in order to analyze at the University of Oxford, UK (Prof. Mark Robinson). This analysis has been performed until now, 2011. It has been possible to identify fragments of ivory or (most probably) decorated bones, probably belonging to a funerary couch. The presence of a funerary couch in this area at the north-east side of the sepulchral area confirms our preliminary hypothesis that this zone was originally the _ustrinum_ where the bodies used to be cremated. The very proximity to the sepulchral area A sud Porta Nocera indicates that this _ustrinum_ could have been shared by both families. In 2011 and 2012 we continue with the analysis and investigation of the pigments from the columellae gravestones at the sepulchral area of _Calventii_ and further excavation and analysis of soil samples. It will give us a better understanding about the funerary rituals of _columellae_ gravestones in Pompeii.

Amorcé en 2014, le nouveau programme d’étude de la nécropole de Porta Nocera a pour première ambition de comprendre et de caractériser les processus de constitution d’un paysage funéraire aux abords de la ville entre la fondation de la colonie et l’éruption de 79, notamment l’implication des autorités publiques dans la planification et la gestion des aires funéraires. Il s’agit ensuite, sur un temps relativement court, quelques générations, de préciser la genèse des différents enclos et structures funéraires (chronologie relative des tombes) et de reconnaître des traditions familiales ou des groupes dans l’aménagement des sépultures et l’exercice des séquences rituelles. Enfin, l’exceptionnel état de conservation des ensembles funéraires permet d’étudier au plus près les trois grandes étapes des rituels de la mort que sont la crémation, la mise au tombeau et la commémoration des défunts. À chacune de ces étapes il est désormais possible d’associer des gestes très précis dont la compilation permettra de proposer une forme d’herméneutique fondée sur la lecture attentive du terrain. Dans ce domaine, le programme comporte une dimension méthodologique forte, autant sur la fouille, dans la mise en place des protocoles d’enregistrement spécifiques destinés à reconnaître les gestes, qu’en laboratoire avec l’étude des restes humains brûlés et du mobilier utilisé dans les séquences rituelles. La richesse des faits observés permet d’ores et déjà de proposer des résultats inédits et déterminants sur la structure des rites déployés dans les enclos ainsi que sur l’élaboration et la transmission des coutumes funéraires au sein d’une communauté romaine d’Italie. Comment étaient organisées et transmises les partitions rituelles d’une génération à l’autre, d’une famille à l’autre ? Comment était construite l’altérité collective de la mort à Pompéi ? En quoi les pratiques suivaient-elles la tradition romaine ? Un enregistrement aussi exhaustif que possible de toutes les traces laissées par les Pompéiens lors de leur fréquentation de la nécropole amène désormais à distinguer l’occasionnel de l’intentionnel pour restituer le contenu des pratiques funéraires locales. L’investissement méthodologique et les résultats obtenus justifient pleinement l’organisation d’une formation en archéologie funéraire destinée à des doctorants et professionnels, qui concerne tout autant la fouille des structures funéraires que l’étude spécifique des crémations. Lors de la campagne 2017, un stage dirigé par l’un de nous (H.D.) a réuni 8 personnes qui ont pu se former à l’étude des os brûlés à partir des tombes exhumées au cours des précédentes campagnes de fouilles, avec une recherche plus particulièrement orientée vers les liaisons ostéologiques entre différentes unités stratigraphiques et/ou fonctionnelles.

Begun in 2014, the new research programme at the Porta Nocera aims to understand and characterise the formation processes of a funerary landscape between the foundation of the colony and the eruption in 79 A.D., in particular the involvement of the public administration in the planning and management of the cemetery areas. The aim is to define the formation of the enclosures and funerary structures relating to a relatively short period, a few generations (chronology of the tombs) and to identify the traditions of families or groups regarding the arrangement of the burials and the practice of funerary rituals. The exceptional state of preservation of the funerary complexes means it is possible to make a very close study of the three main stages of the death rituals, cremation, burial, and commemoration of the dead. It is now possible to associate very precise actions with each of these stages whose cataloguing will make it possible to propose a form of interpretation based on the careful reading of the terrain. In this sphere, the programme has a strong methodological dimension, as much in the excavation as in the putting into practice of the specific protocols for the documentation destined to recognise the gestures, as in the laboratory with the study of the cremated remains and objects used in the ritual sequences. The wealth of evidence already seen makes it possible to already propose unprecedented and decisive results regarding the structure of the rituals carried out in the enclosures in addition to the development and transmission of funerary uses within a Roman community in Italy. How were the ritual parts organised and transmitted from one generation to another, from one family to another? How was the collective otherness of death constructed at Pompeii? In which ways did the practices follow the Roman tradition? The most exhaustive record possible of all the traces left by the Pompeians during their presence in the necropolis can now be used to distinguish the casual from the intentional in recreating the content of local funerary practices. The methodological investment and results obtained fully justify the organisation of a course on funerary archaeology for doctoral students and professionals, which regards both excavation of funerary structures and the specific study of cremations. During the 2017 campaign, a course was taught (by HD) during which eight people studied the burnt bones, starting from the tombs excavated during preceding campaigns, with research particularly orientated towards osteological links across different stratigraphic and/or functional contexts.