Death and burial in the Roman World
By: J.M.C. Toynbee.
Edition: Johns Hopkins paperback ed.
Publisher: John Hopkins University Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Baltimore; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 336
Subjects: Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Rome.; Tombs -- Rome.; Rome -- Social life and customs.
Description: Never before available in paperback, J. M. C. Toynbee's study is the most comprehensive book on Roman burial practices. Ranging throughout the Roman world - from Rome to Pompeii, from Britain to Jerusalem - Toynbee's book examines funeral practices from a wide variety of perspectives. Toynbee first examines Roman beliefs about death and the afterlife, revealing that few Romans believed in the Elysian Fields of poetic invention.

She then describes the rituals associated with burial and mourning: commemorative meals at the gravesite were common, with some tombs having built-in kitchens and rooms in which family could stay overnight. Toynbee also includes descriptions of the layout and finances of cemeteries, the tomb types of both the rich and the poor, and the types of grave markers and monuments, as well as tomb furnishings.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [282]-320) and index.
Originally published simultaneously: Ithaca, New York : Cornell University Press ; London : Thames & Hudson, c1971. (Aspects of Greek and Roman life).