This project documents the current archaeological record of the Qaraçay River Basin in western Azerbaijan. Integrating intensive pedestrian survey, satellite imagery analysis and topographic mapping, the study identified 85 kurgans, six necropolises and nine sites from the Chalcolithic or medieval periods. The authors believe this demonstrates the potential for further archaeological studies in the region.

The tomb of Marcus Venerius Secundio was discovered in July 2021 in the necropolis of Porta Sarno at Pompeii. This paper contextualizes it against the backdrop of 1st-c. CE burial customs and social history. The inscription on the pediment shows that the tomb owner was a former public slave who, after manumission, rose to the rank of the Augustales; he was a “custodian” of the temple of Venus, and he organized “Greek and Latin games/performances.” This is the first archaeological discovery providing direct evidence of Greek musical and/or theatrical performances at Pompeii. Another peculiarity is that Secundio was inhumed, not cremated, a practice so far unique among adults in Pompeii during this period. The inhumation of Secundio and his titulus sepulcralis can be read as local reflections of the Neronian zeitgeist and shed light on the modes by which cultural trends spread from the capital throughout the empire.

During the excavations of the team of the University of Chieti in the area of Ain Hofra, in the East necropolis of Cyrene, several interesting sculptures were found in tombs A and C, also called the Tomb of the Sarcophagi and the Tomb of the Sculptures. In this paper a specific find from Tomb A is presented, as it is a rare example of a Mithraic relief from a private funerary context. The find has only previously been published for the translation and presentation of the inscription; however, an analysis and interpretation of the relief together with the inscription has never been tackled. The very fragmentary lid is made of white marble, presenting a very lively iconographic sequence of Mithraic schemata, in combination with a metrical inscription within a central tabula ansata. The find context is particularly monumental and is characterized by two Temple Tombs built in ashlar masonry located on the plateau of Ain Hofra overlooking the wadi (canyon) and the fertile terraces below. This multidisciplinary article looks at the iconographic elements, the epigraphic implications and the monumental context of the Mithraic reliefs.

Situated on the westernmost corner of the Southern Necropolis, Tomb S181 is an important rock-cut monument, unlike any other thus far known in Cyrene. The presence of a Doric false peristyle running all around the chamber is unique in the context of the Cyrenean funerary culture, as it seems to elaborate and modify the model of the Internal Doric Frieze (seen in famous tombs of the near-by Western Necropolis) in a new, previously unpublished solution. Tomb S181 casts further light on the complicated relationship with the Alexandrian funerary world. This paper describes the tomb and considers it from multiple and different points of view: traditional art-historical comparisons are sought in order to cast light on the chronology but, on the other hand, the display strategies are also analyzed to reconstruct the importance of this monument for the Cyrenean monumental funerary tradition. Tomb S181 is certainly a hybrid entity, the product of a local culture accepting but also deeply modifying Alexandrian influences in terms of architecture and, possibly, also of funerary ritual behaviours. Tomb S181 clearly attests the vitality of rock-cut funerary architecture in Cyrene during the Hellenistic period.

Rescue excavations in Bethlehem undertaken by the Sapienza University of Rome and the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities—Department of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage—have revealed four Bronze Age necropolises. These newly discovered sites illuminate the development of pre-Classical Bethlehem.

Bòbila Madurell-Can Gambús is the most emblematic Neolithic cemetery in the northeastern Iberian peninsula, with a total of 179 documented pit burials. Artifacts made of exogenous raw materials, such as honey flint (southeastern France), jadeite, amphibolite, eclogite and nephrite (Alps and the Pyrenees), variscite (coast of northeastern Iberia), and even obsidian (Sardinia), have been found in the burials. The presence of these raw materials is not exclusive to this necropolis, but they have also been documented in many of the graves of this region during this period. The literature has singled out this funerary practice as the Pit Burials cultural horizon. However, until now the chronology of this funerary practice has not been fully defined, so it was difficult to explain the development of the chronology and the networks through which the materials reached northeast Iberia. New, unpublished radiocarbon (14C) dates of Bòbila Madurell-Can Gambús are presented, as well as the results of different statistical analyses and Bayesian modeling that specify its chronology. Through the contribution of new data on the chronology of Bòbila Madurell-Can Gambús new clues regarding the temporal dynamics of pit burials and the raw materials exchange networks associated with them are presented.

Funeral pyres identified at a fourth-century BC cemetery on Thasos have produced a range of plants. The authors show that strongly represented among them are pomegranate, garlic and grape, as well as bread – foodstuffs for funeral feasts and with significance for religious practice.