Roman Necropolis in Croatia Yields Inhumation and Cremation Burials

News September 17, 2026

Cremation urn, Split, Croatia
Sara Popović/Archaeological Museum in Split
SHARE:

SPLIT, CROATIA—Croatia Week reports that one of the 16 inhumation burials recently unearthed in the western necropolis at the ancient city of Salona, the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia, held the remains of a person who had been placed face down in the grave. Researchers from the Croatian Conservation Institute and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts also recovered three glass bottles and a small glass vessel from this grave. One of three unguentaria, or perfume bottles, buried with the deceased had been crafted in the shape of a date. Twelve other burials held cremated remains that had been placed directly into the earth. Ceramic urns were used to hold cremations in another three burials, while a stone urn containing cremated remains was found in just one of the graves. One of the cremation burials held a glass unguentarium, a bone needle, and a ceramic oil lamp. In all, more than 150 graves have been investigated in the necropolis to date. For more on archaeology in Dalmatia, go to "Roman River Barge."

  • Features September/October 2026

    A Change in Fashion

    Hoards of lavish gold and silver neck rings buried on an English hill reflect dramatic social change

    Read Article
    Torc hoard
    Photo © 2026 The Trustees of the British Museum
  • Features September/October 2026

    Cultivating Fields of Stone

    Peru’s ancient farmers used intricate rock maps to plan for the future

    Read Article
    Courtesy Patricia Aparicio Martínez
  • Features September/October 2026

    Where Was Ancient Egypt Born?

    Archaeologists are reimagining a time before the first pharaohs

    Read Article
    Courtesy Robert Słaboński/Tell el-Farkha Expedition
  • Features September/October 2026

    2,000 Years Under the Sea

    The story of Greece’s famed Antikythera wreck is finally being revealed

    Read Article
    © ESAG/UNIGE