Drinking and the Creation of Death

New perspectives on Roman Vessels in Scandinavian Death Rituals

Abstract

This paper is a critical analysis of the function and me aning of Roman drinking vesseis found in Scandinavian burials from the Roman Iron Age. A proposal for the shift in theoretical perspectives is made, emphasizing the need for theories that acknowledge the transformation of material culture. A review of perspectives informed by practice theory as well as ritual theory is given, and their consequences for our understanding of burials and their grave goods (including Roman drinking vessels) are discussed. A case study of three female inhumation burials containing Roman vessels found in Skovgårde on Zealand (Denmark) is then analysed with these perspectives as a point of departure. The paper concludes that the Roman drinking vessels from Skovgårde were intentionally used in funerary contexts, together with other objects, to create a representation of the deceased persons transformation of identity into one appropriate in death. Thus, the usually reproduced interpretation, where the imported vessels are seen as markers of social hierarchy and signs of Roman ideology among the Germanic elite, must be revised.