Rethinking burial dates at a Graeco-Roman Cemetery ...

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Feb 18, 2015 - b Department of Ancient Scripture, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA ... BYU Egypt Excavation Project team member South (2012).
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 2 (2015) 209–214

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Rethinking burial dates at a Graeco-Roman Cemetery: Fag el-Gamous, Fayoum, Egypt R. Paul Evans a, David M. Whitchurch b, Kerry Muhlestein b,⁎ a b

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA Department of Ancient Scripture, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 18 September 2014 Received in revised form 28 January 2015 Accepted 9 February 2015 Available online 18 February 2015 Keywords: Christianity Mummification Burial Fayoum Egypt Graeco-Roman Radiocarbon dating

a b s t r a c t The Fag el-Gamous cemetery is a 125 hectare Graeco-Roman necropolis on the eastern edge of the Fayoum Depression. The 1000+ burials excavated to date at the cemetery are found largely in rectangular shafts at 0.3–3.0 m deep and oriented on an east–west axis. The high burial density, varying between 1.3 and 3.0 burials per square meter, is due in part to multiple burials in the same shaft. The stratigraphically deepest burials in a shaft are buried head east and later burials in the same shaft are buried head west. It has been argued that this directional shift occurred as early as the late first to the early second century AD. AMS radiocarbon dating of the available samples shows that the deepest and presumably oldest head-east burial dates to AD 79–230, and the oldest head-west burial dates to AD 128–284. One of the deepest signs of Christianity, a cross symbol, is present in the outer wrapping of a burial dated AD 545–645. The head-east and head-west burial practices in the Fag el-Gamous cemetery coexisted for at least 200 years. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

1. Introduction The 125 hectare Fag el-Gamous cemetery is located on the eastern edge of the Fayoum Depression approximately 90 km south of Cairo (Fig. 1). This Graeco-Roman cemetery is one component of the Brigham Young University (BYU) concession that also includes a Graeco-Roman township (Philadelphia), some Middle Kingdom tombs, and a small Old Kingdom pyramid that dates to Pharaoh Snefru (circa 2613–2589 BCE; Dynasty IV). The majority of BYU's excavation efforts since 1990 have been concentrated in the Graeco-Roman cemetery. Burial density varies between 1.3 and 3.0 burials per square meter. Over a thousand documented burials exhumed over twentyfive years of excavations represent only a small fraction of the estimated total buried at Fag el-Gamous cemetery. 2. Fag el-Gamous cemetery Burial shafts in the Fag el-Gamous cemetery are oriented on an east–west axis (Fig. 2) with slight seasonal adjustments made to compensate for solar alignment. A dramatic change in burial patterns became evident during the first few seasons of excavation. Where multiple burials were found in single shafts, or in close proximity, ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (R. Paul Evans), [email protected] (K. Muhlestein).

the deeper (presumably older) burials generally occur at depths between 1 and 4 m with the head oriented toward the east. One-hundred-and-eighty degree reversals (head-west burials) were consistently found above head-east burials (Griggs, 1988a). This pattern has remained consistent over twenty-five years of excavation seasons (Griggs, 1988b, 2005; Griggs et al., 1993, 1998). The directional shift (head-east burial to head-west burial) of burials occurred as early as the late first to the early second century of the Common Era based on pottery shard analysis and depth of burials (Griggs, unpublished). A previous central foundational hypothesis interpreting the directional shift was that a transplanted or newlyChristianized population oriented their burials head-west as early as the end of the first century AD. The current excavation team is re-examining the timing and causes for the directional shift in light of current data and is not confident in the hypothesis of religious affiliation predicting burial direction. A full examination of the data, including a wider historical and geographical comparison was completed by the BYU Egypt Excavation Project team member South (2012). While one possible reason for the directional shift of burials may be the spread of Christianity, other possibilities must not be overlooked. For example, Varius Avitus Bassianus (c. 203–222) was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222 CE and identified himself with sun worship. After his death, Varius was called Elagabalus or Heliogabalus. In 274 CE the emperor Aurelian gave Sun-worship official recognition. Studies of burial direction in Ptolomeic and Pharonic Egypt (Raven, 2005; Petrie, 1911; Bowen, 2003) and in Egypt influenced burials in the southern

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.02.004 2352-409X/© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Fig. 1. Map of Egypt (inset) and Fayoum Depression showing location of the Fag el-Gamous cemetery. The Fag el-Gamous cemetery is on the eastern edge of the Fayoum Depression and 1 km northwest of the Seila Pyramid.

Levant (Bloch-Smith, 1992) which reveal a wide range of burial direction practices, including head-west burials that predate Christianity. Regardless of the cause of burial direction change, the discovery of crosses and other Christian artifacts at Fag el-Gamous supports the hypothesis that some of those buried at Fag el-Gamous were affiliated with Christianity. Moreover, the timeline of the cemetery spans the time of large-scale conversion to Christianity throughout Egypt and

other head-west burials associated with the change in religious practice (Bowen, 2003). The excavation team continues to investigate cultural changes that may account for the dramatic change in burial patterns. While we do not currently know what this cause is, the conversion to Christianity cannot be ruled out. Thus this study investigates both dating for change in burial direction and dating for presumptive Christian associations in a burial. In this article we provide an initial chronology of the change of burial orientation in the Fag el-Gamous cemetery based on a suite of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates derived from bone, teeth and tissue samples originally collected during the 1993–2000 excavation seasons. The data was collected with the intent of providing insight into the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

When did the Graeco-Roman cemetery first come into use? What is the oldest head-west burial? Is it possible to identify a date for the change in burial practice? What is the deepest (and presumably oldest) burial that includes a definite marker of Christianity?

3. Radiocarbon measurements: methods and results

Fig. 2. East/West burial shafts. A. Burial in 1.6 meter deep shaft oriented head-east. A burial in the same shaft at a depth of 0.8 m was oriented head west. B. Cluster burials all oriented head-west.

Five human samples were selected for AMS radiocarbon analysis from the limited BYU Egypt Collection based on the criteria of deepest burial, deepest burial with Christian identity, and head orientation reversal burials from the same shaft (see Fig. 7). Textile samples were not available for the burials meeting these criteria. These limited numbers of samples for analysis were transported to the BYU Egypt Collection from Fag el-Gamous with specific written permission from the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) and under the direct supervision of onsite SCA inspectors during the 1993–2000 excavations. The burial 190/200 North 30/40 East SE47 is the deepest (255 cm) head-east burial for which we have a sample available for analysis. Burials up to 320 cm have been excavated and studied, but the organic material for study is not available outside of Egypt for radiocarbon analysis. Burial shafts deeper than 3 m have not been encountered in this cemetery likely due to the risk of cave in during original shaft excavation, although it may also be partially due to the increasing hardness of the compacted and concreted sand and gravel mix. A lens of aoelian deposits and loose sand may extend for the upper 50–75 cm of the excavated shafts in a square. Both the depositional composition

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A

5 mm

B

5 mm

Fig. 3. Examples of jewelry and textile cross symbols from Fag el-Gamous cemetery. A. One of two bronze cross pendants on a necklace from burial 180/190 N 40/50 E NW 12; B. One of three embroidered cross symbols in linen fabric piece folded and placed over the face of burial 180/190 N 40/50 E NW 11.

and surface proximity to environmental and anthropogenic activities confuse the stratigraphy, but only in this upper layer. Below this loose sand, a hardened gypsum cemented layer of sand and gravel mix (gebel) permanently maintains a clear stratigraphy and defines shaft location (Hamblin, 1988). When the shaft was anciently back filled after burial, the fill has remained pliable compared to the hardened walls of the shaft. The walls of the shafts act as balks separating shafts (15 shafts on average per 5 square meters) in the cemetery. We cannot be certain that deeper burials are necessarily older than the deepest burials in other parts of the cemetery. Differences in grave digging effort and hardness of the gebel likely caused the varying shaft depths encountered throughout the cemetery. Thus, a burial at 180 cm in one area of the cemetery may be as old as a 300 cm deep burial in another area. We have chosen to focus on the deepest burial available to us. The SE47 sample should yield an early date of use for the cemetery.

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The burial 190/200 North 30/40 East SE43 is the deepest head-west burial for which we have a sample. The SE43 sample would yield an early date of head-west burial practice adoption. Burials SE50 and SE51 from 200/210 North 20/30 East SE were interred in the same burial shaft. The shafts provide a temporal gradient of burials with the oldest at the bottom and the youngest burial at the top, thus yielding a relative chronology. Burial SE51, the deepest, is a head-east burial. Burial SE50 was buried 25 cm above burial SE51 in a head-west orientation. This “inverted pair” of burials should provide dates that inform the transition from the head-east to the head-west burial practice in at least one part of the cemetery. While it is remarkable that we have biological samples for these two burials, there are other pairs that were discovered much deeper for which we do not have accessible samples. However, as noted above, deeper burials elsewhere in the cemetery do not necessarily mean that they were older. The burial 150/160 North 0/10 West NE10 is the deepest individual (95 cm deep) in which a cross symbol was identified. Less than 1% of all burials are found with a cross symbol, either as textile images or objects (Fig. 3) and none are found deeper than 1 m. Burial NE10 has two 7 cm square multi-colored cross symbols embroidered in one of the inner layers of clothing (Figs. 4, 5, and 6). The radiocarbon date of NE10 should provide evidence for one of the earliest uses of a Christian symbol in this cemetery. Because crosses were not used as Christian symbols in the earliest phases of Christianity, a cross-laden burial cannot tell us about the timing of the advent of Christianity. It can provide a date that represents the latest possible time for the advent of a Christian presence in the population of the cemetery. The pretreatment and radiocarbon dating of biogenic materials were provided by Beta Analytic, Inc. (Miami, USA) in May 2011 according to current best practices (Taylor, 1992). Briefly, collagen for dating was extracted from tooth and bone samples after pretreatment with alkali to remove secondary organics. Tissue material was prepared for dating by a modified Longin (1971) treatment of successive acid/alkali/acid (0.5 M HCl/0.1 M NaOH/0.5 M HCl at room temperature) washes. Full descriptions of the pretreatment and 14C detection methods are available from Beta Analytic, Inc. The radiocarbon dates (see Table 1) are reported as conventional radiocarbon age (BP, years before present)

Fig. 4. Burial NE10 cross textile, from Fag el-Gamous cemetery.

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Fig. 5. Burial NE10 cross textile, from Fag el-Gamous cemetery.

corrected for isotopic fractionation. These data were converted into calibrated dates using IntCal13 calibration curves as implemented by OxCal4.2 (Bronk Ramsey, 2009) and Calib7.0.1 (Reimer et al., 2013; Stuiver and Reimer, 1993). Both programs yielded equivalent (± 2 years) age ranges and only the OxCal4.2 results are shown. All calendar date ranges are reported at two sigma (95%) possibilities. The calibrated age for each sample extends over 100 years at a 95% probability due to known fluctuations in the generation and cycling of carbon isotopes and statistical scatter in the calibration process. A representation of the relative depth, burial orientation and calibrated age is depicted for each of the samples in Fig. 7. 4. Discussion The archaeological and 14C data are consistent in identifying the Roman/Byzantine period in Egypt (AD 30–AD 641) as the major time

of use for the Fag el-Gamous cemetery. During this time period, a change in burial practices and orientation occurred as evidenced by a change in head orientation in the burial shafts. The burial shafts were originally created as deep as 3 m in a firm, but not permanently accreted, pebble/stone layer locally called gebel. The burial shafts were used for later burials at shallower depths in the shaft, no doubt in part to the ease of access and the unavailability of the shaft locations due to the density of the burial shafts. To date, 45–75 total burials are present in each 5 m2 area. There has been no record yet discovered of the method or practice by which shafts were identified and repeatedly used. AMS radiocarbon analyses establishes that the deepest head-east burial—for which we have a sample—can be dated between AD 80 and AD 231, indicating a high likelihood that this person lived during the early Roman Period. The deepest head-west burial date is AD 128–284. By comparing the deepest head-east and deepest head-west

Fig. 6. Burial NE10 cross textile, from Fag el-Gamous cemetery.

Beta-298786 Beta-298785 Beta-296668 Beta-296667 Beta-298787 80–231 AD 128–284 AD 321–422 AD 325–430 AD 545–645 AD 1860 ± 30 1810 ± 30 1680 ± 30 1660 ± 30 1470 ± 30 Rib Rib Tissue Tissue Tooth 180 165 120 150 130 255 220 145 120 95 Female Male Male Male Female 2000 2000 1998 1998 1987 47 43 51 50 10 SE SE SE SE NE Deepest burial with a cross

East West East West West Deepest head east Deepest head west Burial orientation Transition

SE47 SE43 SE51 SE50 NE10

190/200 North 30/40 East 190/200 North 30/40 East 200/210 North 20/30 East 200/210 North 20/30 East 150/160 North 0/10 West

Beta-analytic reference OxCal 4.2 calibrated age (calendar year range) Conventional radiocarbon age (years BP) Radiocarbon sample Stature (cm) Depth (cm) Gender Excavation season (year) Burial # Square Area Head orientation Sample

Table 1 Mummy samples used in this study. Burials are numbered in the order excavated in each square (e.g., southeast (SE)) within an area. Conventional and calibrated ages were calculated as described in the text. Calendar year range is reported at 95% probability.

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dates, the shift in burial orientation began to take place sometime no later than between the mid-second century to the mid-third century. Both of these burials, SE47 and SE43 were excavated from the same 5-meter square site during the year 2000 excavation season. These burials were interred in non-adjacent shafts separated by 2.5 m and four intervening shafts. Given the scope of the entire cemetery, the relatively narrow spatial separation for these two burials does not provide definitive cemetery wide dates for the burial orientation change. The timing for burials in this area could have been the result of a restricted use during a temporally focused time period and may not be applicable to the entire cemetery. The 14C data in this study is limited by access to testable samples as compared to the hundreds of burials examined with on-site available methods; however, the dates are consistent with the conclusion that a significant cultural influx reflected in head-west burials occurred as early as the beginning of the second century AD. Further insights into the chronology and timing of this change in burial orientation are provided by the “inverted pair” and deepest burial with a cross dates. The “inverted pair” burials were interred in the same shaft and were vertically separated by 25 cm of sand/gravel, with the head-west burial above the head-east burial. The deeper head-east burial shows a likely date between AD 321 and AD 422 and the headwest burial dating to AD 325–430. The “inverted pair” burials are 20 m northwest of the area in which the deepest head-east and deepest head-west burials were found. Not only are the burials spatially distinct from the deepest burials used in this study, the “inverted pair” were interred at a temporally distinct time period at least 100–200 years later than the deepest head-west burial used in this study. The possible use of a cross in burials as a symbol of Christian belief would be expected to occur after the conversion of Constantine in AD 313. The earliest evidence of this post-Constantine Christian symbol appearing in the cemetery is in burial NE10 dated AD 545–645 in a location distinct from the “inverted pair” burials. Inscriptions on a mummy buried in a tomb carved into a hill with mudstone shelving located 100 m south of the cemetery edge indicate a Ptolemaic date for that burial (Griggs et al., 1993). Others were interred in the tomb as part of this burial, suggesting that they were from the same time period. Several other burials in similar tombs in the same hill seem similar enough to suggest that they are also of Ptolemaic date. The quality of mummification efforts in these tomb burials also aligns with the more ornate and labor-intensive burials that took place under the Ptolemies vis-à-vis the Roman era. These tomb burials had led our excavation team to assume that the adjacent burials in the sand and gebel would have begun at the same time, and thus the assumption was that the Fag el-Gamous cemetery burials spanned from the Ptolemaic through the Byzantine era (Griggs et al., 1998). In contrast, the AMS dating suggests that the sand and gebel burials do not stem from the Ptolemaic period. Further investigations are now necessary in order to determine whether there is a difference in the lifespan of the mudstone tombs and the Fag el-Gamous cemetery, and if so, why. It is possible that the economic decline of the Fayoum region during the Roman era, and its accompanying decline in burial expense, led to a shift from mudstone tombs to shafts in the sand and gebel. The population explosion in the area during the early Roman period must also be at least a partial factor in the expansion of the cemetery (Monson, 2012). 5. Conclusions The observed acceptance of a novel burial practice by the population(s) using the Fag el-Gamous cemetery was not instantaneous or wholesale but appears to have percolated over a long period of time, possibly as much as 200 years, beginning as early as the second century AD. During this time period of transition, both head-east and head-west burials are found intermingled throughout the cemetery without any indication of segregation based on the underlying cultural and religious beliefs associated with burial orientation. Based only on the radiocarbon

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Fig. 7. Relative depth and orientation of the burials selected for radiocarbon dating. The mummies from various areas in the cemetery are depicted in a single location.

dating done in this study, we can say that the Fag el-Gamous cemetery was in use at least by the early Roman period, and that the practice of reversing burial direction, which was also usually accompanied by changes in the kind and quantity of burial clothing, began at least by the mid-second to the third centuries. It is important to note that cross symbols appear only on the head-west burials. The earliest date for a cross, based on 14C methods, is from about the mid-sixth century. It is also interesting to note that while burial depth can only provide relative chronology within a specific shaft, at the same time the radiocarbon dating done in this study indicates that deeper burials, regardless of their location, were older than all burials at a lesser depth for the sample studied. This suggests that perhaps the relative depth may be more consistent than we have hitherto supposed. Due to the restricted number of samples which we were able to analyze, these are only initial conclusions, and we are looking forward to much more work. Acknowledgments We express sincere gratitude to the Supreme Council of Antiquities for their support and continued permission to excavate at the Fag el-Gamous cemetery. In addition, we would like to publicly thank the many donors who have made this project possible: including, the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Religious Studies Center, and the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, the Marriott Foundation, and the numerous private donors who have been so generous over the years. References Bloch-Smith, E., 1992. Judahite Burial Practices and Beliefs about the Dead. Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield.

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