Columbaria

This thesis seeks to examine the context of the Roman columbarium tomb in connection to what is known about the plebs media, the alleged occupants. These inhabitants of Rome participated on a large scale in collegia, associations formed by the inferior men in society. The generalisations are mostly based on traditional literature and epigraphic sources. Here, the inconsistencies in the source material make us poorly understand who exactly occupied these tomb chambers, why they lie here and why together.
Although it was never legally recorded, it is likely that the presence of such large collective tombs of modest inhabitants was simply socially unheard of, as social laws are sometimes equally bounded within humanity. For that reason, the collective tombs were placed out of sight and were socially banished underground and towards the back of the aboveground cemetery, only accessible by a smaller diverticolo.
In the conclusion of this thesis the hypothesis of the utilisation of one tomb by one collegium is dismissed, for no tangible evidence of this phenomenon is known. Collegia may have had collective tombs in other towns, but in the city of Rome it seems the collegiati were incorporated in the columbaria as members of the same social class.

Zissu B., and Kloner A., 2019, Underground Explorations at Horvat Qasra, Southern Judean Foothills, Israel. in: A. Zhalov, V. Gyorev, P. Delchev (eds.). Hypogea 2019: Proceedings of International Congress of Speleology in Artificial Cavities, , Dobrich, Bulgaria, May 20-23. 2019. Dobrich. pp. 125-130.

The aim is to present the controversy inherent in the conceptual definition of a characteristic type of Roman funerary monument and its implications for its reflection as an exhibition medium in certain museological institutions. To this end, we will use as a paradigm its use in the National Museum of Roman Art in Merida, the problems that arise from it and the solutions adopted for the convenient solution of these problems.

The article presents a group of rock-cut tombs, a columbarium and an olive press from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods located at Kh. el-Basha in the Judean Foothills (south of Tel Maresha). The documentation was undertaken by the author in the late 1990s following antiquities looting.