Left: KM 2904. Full cremation urn inside lead container.

Right: KM 2903. Cremation urn inside lead container; contents removed for analysis.

Bones, ash, and other remains still occupy the full urn on the left. On the right is the emptied urn KM 2903. The analysis of its contents are presented in this investigation. The urns shown here consist of an inner terracotta pot and lid, formed from a red clay characteristic of much Roman pottery and an outer lead container sealed by a lead lid (not shown), which helped protect the fragile ceramic urn in an environment such as a columbarium. A typical columbarium was a dirty, dank, subterranean mausoleum holding dozens of cremation burials.

KM 2904: Looking inside the full urn.