Evidence Overall (not just for Rome)

Question 1

Caesar evidence

Answer 1

• Denarius Brutus
• Mausoleum inside city walls
• Death mask (full body replica of his corpse with 23 stab wounds)
• Statue depicting him favourably in military attire delivering a speech: charismatic orator and skilled general

Question 2

Roman death and funerary

Answer 2

• Amiternum tomb (shows the pompa - hornblowers, pipe players to the right, professional mourner women tearing hair and clothes to the left, followed by widow and children. Gladiator scene on the back: public munificence of the deceased - legacy of munificence and high social standing)
• Tomb of the Haterii (emphasise freedmen/freedwomen social mobility, economic power, Living Dead, Mos Maiorum - children depicted standing at her funeral bed in the atrium

Question 3

Egypt royal death and funerary

Answer 3

• Valley of the Kings west of Luxor
• Tutankhamun’s tomb: wall paintings in the burial chamber (North wall: Tut embraced by Osiris and gaining entry to the afterlife, West wall: 12 baboons representing 12 hours of the journey into duat, South wall: Tut surrounded by Osiris and Hathor, who are holding ankhs to symbolise Tut’s eternal afterlife), Eastern wall: Tut’s body being carried on a ship; 14 boats in the treasury, canopic jar shrine with goddesses Isis, Selket, Neith, and Nepthys in treasury; life sized statues of Tut in military attire in Antechamber; Tut’s throne in antechamber; in burial chamber: Tut’s sarcophagus depicts him wearing the nemes (blue and gold striped headdress representing both upper and lower egypt, shows his authority over the whole of Egypt), holding heke (crook) and nekhata (flail); tomb structure mimics the underworld beginning with God’s passage of Ra (corridor), Hall of Separation, and House of Gold (burial chamber) -> reflects belief that pharaohs would journey through the afterlife and be accepted into Aaru, the Field of Reeds, and temporarily unite with Osiris as they were god-like. Solid gold death mask: Tutankhamun had a death mask made of solid gold found in his sarcophagus. The anthropoid mask allowed the spirit to recognise its body and return to it after it had returned from the underworld, and the eyes on the death mask also protected the body from evil spirits. This was extremely important as Ancient Egyptians believed that if the body was harmed, the soul would have no home to return to and so would be forced to wander in the underworld. The extravagance of Tut’s death mask showcases the importance of protecting his body, revealing Tutankhamun’s revered position as pharaoh in Egyptian society despite his short rule.

Question 4

Egypt non-royal death and funerary

Answer 4

In NKE, non-royal nobles could be buried in rock-cut cruciform tombs

Anyone could enter Aaru, the Field of Reeds, if they could afford a copy of the Book of the Dead. Afterlife not reserved only for pharaohs anymore

The wealthy could build tomb chapels to honour their dead. Poorer Egyptians were sometimes interred next to the tomb chapels of the wealthy, as Ancient Egyptians believed that in this way the poor could magically gain the privileges of the rich in the afterlife.

Ushabti, small figurines that would magically come to life in the afterlife, were also placed in the tombs of non-royals who could afford them. The ushabti would perform the deceased’s tasks for them so that in the afterlife, the deceased could enjoy leisure time. More ushabti = more wealth. Links to belief that afterlife is a continuation of life on earth, albeit more idyllic.

Personal belongings were also placed into graves. E.g. Kha and Merit: golden royal cubit representing Kha’s extensive legacy as an architect for the tomb of Amenhotep III and projects in Thebes, Merit’s beauty box containing kohl, applicator, cosmetics, 50+ loaves of bread so they had bountiful food in the afterlife, Kha’s chisels and Merit’s Ring of Hathor. Eyes painted on the sides of Merit’s coffin (originally Kha’s) ward off evil spirits to protect the body. Kha’s name (ren) on Merit’s coffin was written in the belief that remembering a person’s name would allow them to live on in the afterlife.

The very poor would be buried in the hot desert sand so they could be naturally mummified -> illustrates that mummification was extremely important in Egyptian society: even the poor would ensure their dead were mummified -> belief that body was home to the soul, corporeal body is important in allowing incorporeal soul to journey through duat and reunite to enter the afterlife

Opening of the eyes and mouth ceremony for both royal and non-royal