Sr-O-C isotope data from an unusual Early Roman burial site in Tongeren, Belgium

Abstract

Archaeological excavations in Atuatuca Tungrorum (present-day Tongeren, Belgium) at a former quarry that provided the foundation sand for the city, uncovered a first century CE Roman cemetery. The burial ground, utilized for less than a century, contained the inhumed remains of 16 individuals who were predominantly buried in an unconventional manner, such as prone or on the side, in multiple burials or showing signs of body manipulation. The archaeological and funerary contexts suggest an atypical burial site, where individuals were not granted the dignity of formal burial, such as cremation or neat inhumation in a coffin or shroud. This dataset accompanies a paper in which a multidisciplinary study is presented combining aDNA and Sr-O-C isotope data withosteoarchaeological results, to better comprehend the nature of this anomalous burial ground and to gain initial insights into the buried individuals.

Keywords

• Roman
• mobility
• Belgium
• inhumations
• strontium
• oxygen
• carbon