Tombs in which the cremated remains of large numbers of non-élite members of the population were deposited in individual niches marked with inscriptions will be known to anyone familiar with the funerary landscape of the city of Rome. But, as Dorian Borbonus explains, until now we have never fully understood these so-called ‘columbarium’ tombs, nor appreciated fully the extent to which their use and architectural development was a product of discrete historical circumstances. Partly this is a consequence of poorly documented antiquarian discoveries which offer a fragmentary picture of the archaeological evidence, but it also stems from a series of ‘anachronistic notions that continue to loom powerfully in more recent treatments’ (17). These include the technically erroneous use of the term ‘columbarium’ to describe an entire monument instead of a single niche containing two urns. This is the first instance in which B. gently pulls the well-worn and familiar rug out from beneath even his most informed reader's feet. His aim is to step away from interpretations connected with population growth to ‘decode columbaria as a distinctive type of funerary architecture that were emblematic for their time period and mirrored the experiences of those who used them’ (17).
B. establishes the need for a systematic study of columbaria in the Introduction, providing a flavour of his conclusions, namely that the architecture and burial communities of columbaria emerged as a consequence of Augustan social and cultural transformations, demonstrating a balance of tradition and innovation; that subterranean columbaria evolved into new types of tomb, exemplifying broader shifts in funerary culture; and that the internal cohesion of burial communities was predicated on an egalitarian collective identity which integrated the individual into a ‘commemorative universe’ expressed visually by the uniformity of the inwards-facing space of the tomb. In ch. 1, B. critiques existing interpretations and offers a new definition: columbaria are ‘closed, collective funerary monuments that deposit cremation ashes in urns and niches on their interior walls’ (20) with two subcategories reflecting chronological changes: early imperial partially or completely subterranean tombs and those constructed above-ground from the first century a.d. B. argues that this broad ‘blueprint’ is precise and verifiable, capable of respecting the internal diversity of the thirty-five monuments he identifies as the basis of his study (descriptions are presented in an ‘Archaeological Catalog’). Ch. 2 explores the relationship between columbaria and the social and historical parameters of the Augustan period with an investigation of the extent to which they embody the balance of tradition and innovation witnessed in other contemporary building programmes. B. identifies a rejection of traditional public-facing commemoration in favour of an internal burial community in which inscriptions provided an outlet for individuality even as their uniformity stressed solidarity. This, he claims, but perhaps over-emphasizes, parallels the use of enclosed commemorative spaces within Augustan urban planning. Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean tombs also provided innovative influences which were combined with local features of funerary practice. In ch. 3, attention turns to changes in architecture and commemorative practices. B. argues that the gradual abandonment of the ‘uniformity principle’ (68) underpinning the earliest columbaria demonstrates that the desire to stand out from the group became more important, culminating in the development of above-ground tombs. Although the issue of competition is addressed, it is played down in favour of an emphasis on individuality within the collective. The tomb occupants form the focal point of chs 4 and 5 which review their demographic composition, the social experience and appeal of collective burial to the non-élite and the changing use of commemorative vocabulary, observing that commemorative patterns reflect a closed community in which individual achievement was celebrated but remained ‘secondary to acknowledging all members of the community’ (116). It is not always clear, however, who B. considers members of this community to be — was a sense of solidarity important to living members, the dead, mourners or all three, and prior to burial or only after death when membership became fixed in perpetuity?
This book collates for the first time everything currently known about columbaria, making it a crucial resource for anyone investigating Roman funerary customs. Its arguments are clear and refreshing, compelling the reader to look critically at traditional assumptions. Embedding columbaria within wider funerary landscapes and Augustan culture is essential for their full interpretation, and B. consistently links the developments he observes to broader Augustan patterns. The arguments presented are largely convincing, although B.'s zeal to give columbaria the dedicated attention they so evidently deserve does occasionally generate arguments which imply that they were the only dynamic element of early imperial funerary culture, emerging against a static backdrop of historically unchanging traditions. Similarly, some of the direct connections made between tombs and broader Augustan architecture and epigraphic culture require greater critical unpacking. In ch. 4, for example, the popularity of highly monumental and public-facing inscriptions within the urban landscape seems to be read as a direct parallel with the popularity of small-scale, heavily abbreviated semi-public texts found inside columbaria. This is one example of an argument which suffers from the fact that almost all engagement with existing scholarship is limited to endnotes, setting B.'s arguments apart from the wider scholarly landscape. However, by making the evidence for columbaria accessible and especially by asking insightful new questions this highly readable book considerably extends our collective knowledge of Roman funerary culture.
