Archaeologists have unearthed a sprawling ancient Roman cemetery in southern France containing 1,430 graves and evidence of funeral banquets honoring deceased family members.
Excavations of the cemetery, called the Robine necropolis due to its proximity to a canal of the same name, began in 2017 ahead of construction work in the city of Narbonne. According to one translation, the grave complex was “remarkably well preserved” because it was buried under a three-meter-high blanket of silt during the flooding of the nearby Aude River opinion.
The tombs and artifacts date from the end of the first century B.C. and the end of the third century AD and include more than 100 graves containing the remains of children. Subsequent analysis showed that the method of burial varied depending on the age of the deceased: children were buried, while the majority of adults were cremated. Adults buried without cremation were placed in wooden coffins, while children were placed in simpler boxes or pits sealed with a lid, the statement said.
Some graves were littered with charred pieces of food – including dates, figs, grain and bread. Archaeologists believe these are leftovers from festivals held by families to commemorate deceased relatives. The festivals may have been part of a nine-day Roman festival called Parentalia that families celebrated each February. The festival ended with an event called “Feralia” on February 21, in which families gathered in cemeteries to bring food, wine and other offerings to the dead.
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Excavations at the Robine Necropolis uncovered several stone structures that may have served as banquet beds for families celebrating Feralia, the statement said. The remains of libation tubes – hollow ceramic tubes inserted into the ground above graves – suggest that families celebrated the Feralia festivals symbolically with the dead by pouring food into the graves of their relatives.
The fully excavated necropolis covers 5,000 square meters and is located 700 meters east of the ancient Roman center of Narbonne. Narbonne, known in ancient times as Narbo Martius, was one of the first Roman colonies outside of Italy. The city was 118 B.C. Founded in BC along the Via Domitia, a road that stretches from Italy through southern France to Spain.
According to the statement, the necropolis consists of two main areas arranged in a regular patchwork of burial sites and access roads. The first area borders a north-south road that crosses the Via Domitia, and the second area forms a strip further north along a road that connects Narbonne with the Mediterranean coast.
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The archaeologists found that the cemetery evolved over time, highlighting changes in the layout of plots, graves and boundaries. They discovered high stone walls built around AD 50 that separated burials, as well as cemetery extensions and further enclosures constructed toward the end of the first century AD. The walls were decorated with marble gravestones that identified the people buried there. According to the statement, the majority of the necropolis were Italian freedmen.
Many of the burials contained grave goods, including vases, balms, lamps, coins and jewelry. These artifacts – along with a special set of amulets, miniature tools, bells, etc phallic pendants that were considered apotropaicor able to ward off evil – will be exhibited at the Narbo Via Museum in Narbonne from 2026, according to the statement.