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the ‘guardians’ of San Martino |
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| Four burials were found beneath the floor of the medieval church. Two others were discovered in the area of the anteroom and another was placed outside between the apse and the enclosing wall. The earliest burials – radiocarbon dated to the middle or second half of the 6th century – were located in a position of privilege in the centre of the hall and at the entrance to the apse. The remains found here – an adolescent and an adult male who had died at the age of 35–40 years – may have been those of the founders or patrons of the building. Therefore it may have been intended as a mausoleum for a small select group of people and thus erected in this prominent position visible from afar. None of the deceased had been buried with any kind of sophisticated grave goods and all had been interred in wooden coffins. The burials were at a sufficient depth and had obviously been marked on the surface, as there were no disturbances or overlaps. |
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the Monte San Martino 
