Archaeologists have unearthed a vast necropolis beneath Zadar, a city with over two millennia of continuous habitation. The site, revealed in recent excavations across a former auto club lot, contains over 3,000 ancient graves, offering an unparalleled glimpse into the burial practices and social life of Roman-era Zadar. The significance of this find extends beyond the number of tombs, it reveals how the living and the dead coexisted in daily Roman life. This study, published in Miscellanea Hadriatica et Mediterranea, sheds light on the profound connection between ancient Roman cities and their surrounding burial grounds.
A Forgotten City Beneath Modern Streets
Zadar, Croatia’s oldest continuously inhabited city, has long been a treasure trove for archaeologists. Beneath its bustling streets lies a forgotten world, an expansive Roman necropolis that was largely hidden beneath centuries of construction. In recent years, excavations have focused on an area known as Relja, where archaeologists discovered that over 3,000 tombs were scattered across an ancient burial ground. This discovery challenges our conventional understanding of Roman burial customs, as the graves span an impressive range of centuries, from the Iron Age through to the Late Middle Ages.
Assoc. Prof. Igor Borzić, from the University of Zadar, explained that although the sheer scale of the necropolis is extraordinary, the discovery of graves in this area should not come as a surprise.
“The discovery of graves here is not surprising because, as you probably know, ancient graves are all around us,” Borzić said.
The Relja site, located near former roads that connected Roman Zadar with inland settlements, offers new insights into how these burial grounds were integrated into the fabric of everyday life.
The Roman City of Zadar: A Cemetery Interwoven With Urban Life
Roman custom dictated that cemeteries be located outside city walls, often along major roads. Zadar’s ancient necropolis follows this pattern, with tombs lying along the routes leading to nearby towns. Archaeologists have found that these routes not only connected settlements but also acted as conduits for memory. The placement of tombs and memorials along these roads allowed the dead to remain visible to the living, bridging the gap between the two worlds.
What makes the Relja necropolis particularly fascinating is the diversity of burial practices uncovered. Some individuals were cremated and placed in urns, while others were interred in large amphorae, or transport jars. This variety speaks to a broader cultural shift in Roman funerary customs over time. In addition to human remains, the graves contained a wide range of artifacts, from everyday tools to luxury items such as jewelry and coins. These objects were not mere offerings; they provide a window into the lives of those buried, showing how trade, labor, and social status were reflected in death.
Credit: Department of Archaeology at the University of Zadar
The Significance of Burial Artifacts: Trade, Status, and Social Life
The artifacts found in the tombs of Relja are a testament to the Roman city’s extensive trade networks and social hierarchies. Items such as glass vessels and ceramic urns not only served practical purposes, such as carrying food and oil, but also held symbolic meaning. Archaeologists have noted the presence of glass items and luxury goods from far-reaching Roman provinces, linking Zadar to other key trade hubs across the eastern Mediterranean. These goods, buried alongside the dead, reveal a fascinating duality: personal mourning intertwined with the global reach of Roman commerce.
One striking discovery involved the grave of a carpenter, where archaeologists found 11 iron tools beside the remains of a young laborer. This find not only sheds light on the deceased’s profession but also serves as a reminder of the complex social fabric of Roman Zadar. For the Romans, funerary practices were a way to honor the deceased’s life, but they also mirrored the social and economic status of individuals in their community. Jewelry, finely crafted containers, and other luxury items found in different graves pointed to a society where material wealth was closely tied to one’s position in life, and death.
Preserving the Past Amid Construction and Weather Challenges
Archaeological work in Relja has been far from simple. As construction continues in the area, excavations have been met with the challenge of fluctuating weather conditions, particularly heavy rains that flood open trenches. The water-damaged areas of excavation make it difficult to fully explore the extent of the necropolis, but researchers continue to make progress. The need for a careful, methodical approach is crucial, as the site holds potential for further discoveries that could provide even more context for the tombs and the people who once inhabited Zadar.
As Borzić puts it, the difficulty of conducting excavations is compounded by the rapid pace of modern development: “Heavy rain can flood open trenches fast, and water makes already narrow windows of observation even shorter.” This urgency to document the past before modern development obscures it underscores the importance of these ongoing excavations.
The Ongoing Legacy of Relja: A Window into Roman Life
The growing body of research from the Relja necropolis paints a picture of a Roman city where life and death were never far apart. The artifacts, the bones, and the tombs reveal not just a city of trade and commerce but a community that intertwined memory, identity, and mortality into the very fabric of daily life. As further excavations and studies are conducted, the full scope of this ancient Roman cemetery will continue to illuminate the complexity of Roman society in Zadar.
The findings, published in Miscellanea Hadriatica et Mediterranea, are a reminder of how the modern world often rests upon a forgotten past. For the people of Zadar, the dead were not something to be hidden away, they were integrated into the rhythms of daily life. This discovery forces us to rethink our relationship with the past and how, even in the bustling streets of modern cities, we might be walking atop centuries of forgotten memory.
