Roman Sarcophagi in their Original Context, Rome and Vicinity

Throughout the 2^nd century A.D., there were burial chambers with sarcophagi well integrated into the original lay-out. The most frequent position for a sarcophagus inside these chambers of the middle and later Imperial age was in a niche. This niche could be originally designed to accommodate a sarcophagus, as in the so-called "Tomba della Medusa" of late-Hadrianic date on the territory of the Policlinico,[4] or in the "Hypogeum of the Octavii" from the late 2^nd century on Via Triumphalis.[5] In both structures, there were no obviously visible burial places in the cellae except the stone coffins. In other tombs, niches were not originally intended for sarcophagi. One example is the late-Hadrianic tomb 11 of the Isola Sacra necropolis near Portus Romae that contained three arcosolia with trench graves for inhumations (fig. 1). One of these niches was reused in the later 2^nd century to insert a sarcophagus.[6] Not only did the original burial in the trench grave underneath the arcosolium become at least partly inaccessible due to the set-up of the sarcophagus, but parts of the niche's arch, including plaster and wall painting, had to be destroyed as well, because the small strigilated sarcophagus was still too large for the arcosolium. This remained unrepaired, creating a somewhat untidy overall impression of the burial chamber.

The second most documented of the possible ways to set up a sarcophagus was to place it on a masonry base or pedestal. This kind of architectural installation does not occur in the early Imperial age, but is constantly popular throughout the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries. Only seldom masonry bases were part of the original lay-out of the burial chambers. One of the few examples is the so-called "Tomb of the Valerii" on Via Latina, built around 160 A.D.[7] In most cases, masonry bases for sarcophagi were added later though. An example can be found in the anteroom of the "Tomb of the Pancratii" on Via Latina.[8] There, two pedestals in the shape of arcades were built against the back wall and the wall opposite the entrance in a later period, as well a third pedestal in the shape of a solid masonry block next to the entrance. When this hypogeum was excavated in the 19^th century, four sarcophagi dating to around 270 A.D. stood on the three pedestals, and two further coffins were on the floor. This way, the anteroom was completely full. Further, the entrance to the main burial chamber with the huge house-shaped coffin mentioned above was blocked by seven sarcophagi, dating from around 150 to 230 A.D., that were carelessly dumped into the cella. Obviously, these sarcophagi had been removed from the vestibulum to make room for new coffins, possibly when a new proprietor took over the tomb. At this point, only the anteroom seems to have been in use, as the actual burial chamber was inaccessible. The older graves, i.e. the earlier sarcophagi containing burials, seem to no longer have been of any significance.