Roman-era tombs

Roman-era tombs, discovered in Laurinova Street, are a good example of family grave plots that can be found in necropolises of large cities. The standard form is cremated burial, which has been known in this area since the Early Iron Age. A novelty are so-called tomb chests, i.e. crates made of roof tiles or stone slate slabs, or a combination of both. An urn with cremated bones, as well as accessories that accompanied the deceased in the afterlife, were found in the chests. A coin to pay Charon for passage is an obligatory addition. In the tomb chests found in Vipava, a mug and a cup, both made of imported, Italian pottery, were an obligatory addition to the urn. The urn itself was always an ordinary home-made pot.

It is interesting that the discovered graves were usually used at least for double burials - they feature two urns, two mugs and two cups. An unusual exception that is not known elsewhere is the brick chest in which as many as eight burials were discovered with all associated inventory. Single burials were found in graves where urns with accessories were covered with a cut amphora, or in larger tomb chests made of stone slabs, where there are also more accessories. Graves reflect the image of the social structure of their time; it could be said for Vipava that at least part of the population was very well off and firmly embedded in the upper stratum of society, which certainly lived in solid Roman-style buildings.