French archaeologists uncover ‘vast Roman burial area’ with cremation graves ‘fed’ by liquid offerings

abdulmanannet77@gmail.comNovember 2, 2025

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French archaeologists uncover ‘vast Roman burial area’ with cremation graves ‘fed’ by liquid offerings

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Archaeologists digging on the French Riviera have discovered a huge Roman cremation cemetery. Careful work at the site has revealed the step-by-step process the Romans used to cremate their dead and honor them in the afterlife.

More than 160 cremation tombs have been discovered at the ancient site of Olbiawhich began as a fortified Greek colony around 350 BC in what is now southern France. The geographer Strabo mentioned that Olbia was a city of the Massiliotes – the inhabitants of neighboring Massilia (present-day Marseille). When Marseille was captured by Julius Caesar In 49 BC, Olbia became a Roman city focused on commerce and thermal baths.

For many of the deceased, the cremation process began when relatives placed the corpse on a wooden stand built over a square grave. The heat of the pyre caused the support to collapse and the bones to whiten, twist and crack, according to Inrap. Glass objects melted, bronze objects warped, and ceramics were stained with soot.

“A particularity of Olbia is that most of the [the graves] are surrounded by a libation channel for liquid offerings (wine, beer, mead) intended to honor the deceased or to ensure their protection,” according to the press release.

two necks of pottery vessels in the ground

Two libation tubes found in Olbia, France. (Image credit: Tassadit Abdelli/Inrap)

These libation tubes were made from recycled amphorae that protruded from the tomb, even after it was covered with tiles and filled with earth. The tubes allowed families to visit their loved ones and symbolically feed them during Roman festivals of the dead, such as the Feralia (February 21) and Lemuria (May 9, 11 and 13).

In Olbia, some cremation pyres were transformed directly into burial sites, while others were partially or completely emptied. But while the typical Roman custom involved collecting the bones in glass, ceramic or stone urns before burying them; in Olbia, many bones were piled up in small piles or placed in a perishable container, which may suggest social or cultural differences within the city’s population, according to Inrap.

“These discoveries remind us that ancient funeral rites were rich, varied and loaded with multiple meanings, some of which remain mysterious even today,” Inrap representatives indicated in the press release.