Ustrinum
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In ancient Roman funerals, an ustrinum (plural ''ustrina'') was the site of a cremation funeral pyre whose ashes were removed for interment elsewhere. The
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
equivalent was a (). Ustrina could be used many times. A single-use cremation site that also functioned as a tomb was a ''bustum''.


Ustrina in common use

A single ''ustrinum'' could accommodate many successive cremations, and usually belonged to a single family. Mass cremations, in which several bodies were burned in a ''ustrinum'' simultaneously or in succession, were efficient but were used only for the poor, or during epidemics, or on battlefields. Otherwise the ustrinum was supposed to be cleared after use, to avoid the mixing of ashes from different bodies, though a few cases are known in which this was deliberately done. After a cremation, the heir of the deceased sprinkled the ashes with wine, gathered them along with any traces of bone, placed them in a cremation urn and interred them in a mausoleum or a ''bustum'' (tomb). This was sometimes done by the wife of the deceased; Livia did so with the ashes of her husband, the emperor Augustus.


Ustrinum Domus Augustae

The ''ustrinum'' of the emperor
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
, and other members of the
house of Augustus The House of Augustus, or the ''Domus Augusti'' (not to be confused with the ''Domus Augustana)'', is situated on the Palatine Hill in Rome, Italy. This house has been identified as the primary place of residence for the emperor Augustus (). The ...
, was sited in the
Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...
, near the Mausoleum of Augustus.
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
describes it as a
travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...
enclosure with a metal grating (presumably on top of the wall) and black poplars planted inside it. A fine alabaster urn and six large rectangular
cippi A (plural: ''cippi''; "pointed pole") is a low, round or rectangular pedestal set up by the Ancient Romans for purposes such as a milestone or a boundary post. They were also used for somewhat differing purposes by the Etruscans and Carthaginians ...
of travertine were found in excavations in 1777 at the corner of the Corso and Via degli Otto Cantonia (now Via dei Pontefici). These ''cippi'' had inscriptions of various members of the imperial household, the three sons and one daughter of
Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the Patric ...
,
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
the son of
Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54 * Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius * Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberiu ...
, and a certain Vespasianus. It is very probable that these ''cippi'', or at any rate the first three, which all end with the formula 'hic crematus est,' belonged to the ustrinum. This would place the ustrinum on the east side of the Mausoleum. On this hypothesis, the fourth and fifth ''cippi'', which bear the formula ''hic situs'' (or ''sita'') ''est'', may have belonged to the mausoleum. Hirschfeld however, excludes this possibility, mainly because of the material and form of the ''cippi''.


Ustrinum Antoninorum

The remains of an ancient Roman structure were discovered in 1703 under the Casa della Missione, just northwest of the Piazza di Monte Citorio, with an orientation like that of the columns of Antoninus and
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
. It consisted of three square enclosures, one within another. The two inner enclosure walls were of travertine; the outer consisted of a travertine kerb, on which stood pillars of the same material with an iron grating between them. The innermost enclosure was 13 metres square, the second 23, and the outer 30 metres square. A free space, 3 metres wide, was left between the first and second walls and between the second and third. The entrance was on the south. Architect and topographer
Francesco Bianchini Francesco Bianchini (13 December 16622 March 1729) was an Italian philosopher and scientist. He worked for the curia of three popes, including being ''camiere d'honore'' of Clement XI, and secretary of the commission for the reform of the cal ...
named it the "ustrinum of the Antonines" on the hypothesis that it was the site of the funeral pyre for members of that dynasty. This possibility has not been seriously challenged, though it may also have been attached to the column of Antoninus as a great altar for sacrifices at the
deification Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...
of the emperors. Lanciani suggests that this may have been the "ustrinum Antonini Pii et Faustinae", while another similar structure, of which the ruins were found in 1907 just a little to the north-east of the first, was the "ustrinum M. Aurelii Antonini".NS (''Notizie degli scavi di antichità'' it. Antiquity Excavations News
Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...
, Rome. The paging is always that of the separate publication, not as found with the Memorie dei Lincei.) 1907, 525‑528, 681; 1909, 10‑11; 1915, 322; BC (''Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma'', Rome) 1907, 326‑327; 1908, 86; 1909, 113; BA (''Bollettino d' Arte'', Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione. Seria I. Rome) 1910, 315; SR (''Studi Romani'', Rome) 1913, 1‑13; AA (''Archäologische Anzeiger'', Berlin. Appendix to Jahrbuch des Instituts.) 1913, 140‑143; PT (, ''Le Terme di Diocleziano e il Museo Nazionale Romano'', ed. 4. Rome 1922. Cited by pages.) 60, 75, 76


References


External links


''Ustrinum Domus Augustas''
in
Platner Platner may refer to: Places * Platner, Colorado People * Ernst Platner (1744–1818), German anthropologist, physician, and philosopher * Ernst Zacharias Platner (1773–1855), German painter and writer, son of the foregoing * Samuel Ball Platner ...
, ''A Topographical...''
''Ustrinum Antoninorum''
in Platner, ''A Topographical...''
"Ustrinum"
in Lawrence Richardson, ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992, . *{{cite journal , title = The 'Ara Ditis-Ustrinum of Hadrian' in the Western Campus Martius and Other Problematic Roman Ustrina , last= Boatwright , first= Mary T. , journal=
American Journal of Archaeology The ''American Journal of Archaeology'' (AJA), the peer-reviewed journal of the Archaeological Institute of America, has been published since 1897 (continuing the ''American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts'' founded by t ...
, publisher=
Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America's oldest society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and AIA has established re ...
, issn= 1939-828X , volume= 89 , issue= 3 , year= 1985 , pages= 485–97 , doi= 10.2307/504363 , jstor= 504363 , via=
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Death in ancient Rome Death customs