Columbarium Tombs and Collective Identity in Augustan Rome by Dorian Borbonus (review)

Roman funerary practices have been examined and researched in various disciplines as a useful lens to illuminate historical and social details of particular eras. Examples of this include studying wall paintings featuring festive dancing and drinking within tumuli to realize an Etruscan influence on ritual practice, and witnessing depictions of Christ as Orpheus within Christian catacombs to reveal the syncretistic nature of Roman Christians. Material culture can obviously impact our understanding of social conditions in antiquity. Dorian Borbonus offers an important contribution to this methodological endeavor in his book focused on columbarium tombs. In his short but evocative book, he argues that columbaria from the Augustan period (27 b.c.e.–14 c.e.) effectively mirror the social environment of the non-elite in Rome.

Roman columbaria have been a neglected body of evidence within the field of Roman material culture, as Borbonus admits. But the material evidence can yield a useful depiction of what social life was like for non-elites in Rome in antiquity, and it certainly epitomizes the importance of how funerary practice contributes critical evidence to our understanding of the operation of groups in life. Borbonus offers a useful definition of “columbarium” from the outset of his work. He defines a columbarium as a subterranean or partially subterranean tomb, featuring inset burial niches holding cinerary urns (usually two) and also including a plaque with an inscription. Borbonus points out that there has been some variety in defining columbaria that has led to confusion, and any definition should be broad, precise, and include the requisite component of “cremation niche burial tomb.” In his first chapter, Borbonus moves through the various definitions of columbaria and offers his rationale for a more clear and precise definition. He deftly addresses the history of interpretation of these funerary monuments, citing the requisite experts in the field, and points out the inconsistency in terminology and dating that has forced a reexamination of Roman columbaria.

Borbonus argues in his second chapter that Roman columbaria differ from prior republican tombs in several ways. The content of earlier tombs focused on accomplishments of the family inhumed. The method of funerary monuments was borne out of competition, comparing the splendor and grandeur of competing monuments. And the audience was as broad as possible. Columbaria in the Augustan era were quite different as they were egalitarian in message and architecture, and their audience was limited. Visually, columbaria placed each niche at an equal level, thus shifting the focus in these funerary monuments from the individual to the collective.

This style of non-elite columbaria evolved though from a subterranean style to an above ground funerary monument. But as Borbonus points out, this evolution did not happen immediately. Some columbaria were partially submerged, and towards the end of the Augustan era, there appears to be a shift towards a different style of structure. Borbonus argues that while several architectural features remained the same, the introduction of a more visual hierarchy within the structure was much different. This included the shift in vocabulary of carved epitaphs, as Borbonus addresses in Chapter Four. Epitaphs in collective, subterranean tombs were brief, but they successfully described the individual as connected to a wider group. Towards the end of the first century c.e., the vocabulary on epitaphs shifted to focus more on social connections of the individual, and they took on a more competitive valence.

But why was there such a move toward egalitarian, subterranean columbaria during the Augustan period? And why did this trend evolve and fade away after the Augustan period? Borbonus suggests that during the reign of Augustus, there was more of an influx of freedmen in the social environment. This group faced challenges in discovering patrons, and they had to find their niche in society (pun intended!). Non-elites found their community through associations (collegia) that proliferated during the imperial period. Collegia were strictly governed and tightly controlled, and Borbonus argues that the architecture of columbaria mirror...