cinerary container

"Aschekiste" (Cinerary container)

Early in 1912 a cinerary container  from grey sandstone was found during excavation work on the property at Brandenburg 24. It contained three earthenware vessels used as urns, two of which were covered with a plate. In two of the vessels there were small balsamaria (balsam containers) made of greenish glass lying on the cremation remains. The ceramic and glass finds dated the grave in the middle or second half of the third century. What is remarkable is that the cinerary container had obviously been used for a second time, because the remains of a decorative frame and letters typical for the initial wording on Roman grave inscriptions ("D(is) M(anibus)" (= (sacred) to the spirits of the dead) can be detected on the face of the semicylindrical cover.

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