The roman-period necropolis of Sa Mitza Salida, Masullas (OR)

This paper provides a study of the grave types and material culture yielded by the archaeolog- ical excavations of the Roman-period necropolis of Sa Mitza Salida, Masullas, centre-west Sardinia. Its aim is to deliver a solid chrono-typological founda- tion for further studies around this site that holds a significant interpretive potential, due to the detailed recording of its excavation. As such, it will require important theoretical efforts and the formulation of new hypotheses involving different research ques- tions and perspectives. The paper will focus on the human remains and material culture coming from a sample of 10 graves dating between the 1st and 3rd centuries ad. The focus will be the single graves and their chronological span, the ceramic types, the coins, and glass. It will highlight recurring associative patterns involving the body of the deceased and spe- cific grave goods, hinting at the existence of a well codified set of gestures used consistently by the com- munity of Masullas for around three centuries. More- over, a broad spectrum of different treatments of the human bodies – often neglected in funerary archae- ology studies – will be underscored here. Overall, in order to give a comprehensive vision of the first three centuries of Sa Mitza Salida, this paper combines the attention on the grave goods inside each grave (i.e. pottery, coins) with the focus on the human remains, treating them both as part of the material world with which the community of Masullas could potentially – and did, actually and repeatedly – interact.