Bones and burials in Roman Augst

Abstract

The two books under discussion, both published in the series Forschungen in Augst, present the careful analysis of excavated burials at the Roman colonia of Augusta Raurica in Switzerland. Although each volume is thematically devoted to the study of Roman burials, the contexts of these burials are very different, ranging from intramural burials and fragmentary human remains in the town (Kramis) to the interment of a single wealthy individual in one of the Roman cemeteries outside the colonia (Baumann). The way in which the burials are investigated and the contextual and social information they convey also distinguishes between the two volumes, although the studies are complementary and, together, they considerably advance our knowledge of death and burial in Roman Augst.