Investigating Identities in Late Antiquity : A Case Study of the Roman Weapons Burial Deposit from the Sintrivani Basilica in Thessaloniki

MANIOTIS, Errikos. Investigating Identities in Late Antiquity : A Case Study of the Roman Weapons Burial Deposit from the Sintrivani Basilica in Thessaloniki. Comitatus : A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Los Angeles: UCLA, CMRS Center for Early Global Studies, 2023, Neuveden, No 54, p. 151-176. ISSN 0069-6412. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cjm.2023.a912675.

Basic information

• Original name: Investigating Identities in Late Antiquity : A Case Study of the Roman Weapons Burial Deposit from the Sintrivani Basilica in Thessaloniki
• Authors: MANIOTIS, Errikos (300 Greece, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Comitatus : A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Los Angeles, UCLA, CMRS Center for Early Global Studies, 2023, 0069-6412.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Field of Study: 60102 Archaeology
• Country of publisher: United States of America
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• Impact factor: Impact factor: 0.100 in 2022
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14210/23:00132891
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cjm.2023.a912675
• UT WoS: 001112835400007
• Keywords in English: Ethnoarchaeology; Late Antique Archaeology; Identity; Byzantine; Architecture; Byzantine; Death and Burial; Ethnicity; Burial Practices; historiography; Roman Provinces; Burial Customs; Ancient Weapons and Warfare; Barbarians and Romans; Swords
• Tags: rivok

Abstract

The identification of "peoples" is the oldest purpose that the study of burial rites has been made to serve. Written sources tell us that in late antiquity different peoples migrated into the Roman Empire, both in the Western and in the Eastern half. Cemetery archaeology provides one of the most important sources for early medieval social history. Weapon deposits should not be excluded from this process. The current paper investigates the armament of a soldier's burial found in a grave attached to the so-called Sintrivani Basilica in Thessaloniki, Greece, dated to the early fifth century CE and how the study of arms and armor combined with other archaeological findings could help us to explore identities in late antiquity. The most interesting weapon of the deceased from the whole hoard is the sword that had been found bent. This striking and critical feature led me to correlate it with the ritual of "killing a weapon." The bent sword expresses complex social statements about status and identity and functions as a clue that the soldier was a "Romanized" Goth or from another Germanic tribe who served as a mercenary (foederatus) in the imperial Roman forces. Considering the importance of the burial location, it is also clear that the deceased was a high-ranking officer of the Roman army.

Links

• MUNI/A/1420/2022, interní kód MU: Name: Archeologické terénní prospekce, exkavace a dokumentace III

Investor: Masaryk University, Archaeological field prospecting, excavation and documentation III