Ruins at Alyscamps

This is not the first time I have been to a cemetery abroad but this is the first time I have been to one which is ancient. I had no idea of ancient Roman burial practices and I never realized how similar it would be to modern burial practices. The necropolis of Alyscamps is strewn with numerous sarcophagi that almost any small structure here is probably a sarcophagus. The main street itself is lined with several of them. They were in various states of ruin, I believe the best preserved ones have already been brought to the museums for better safe keeping.

There are actually several structures here at Alyscamps. Some of them appear to be chapels which are probably built during the Christianized era of the Roman empire. I don’t know who was special enough to be buried in these chapels but it seems to be special. Further on, there were sites which appeared to have a chapel previously. It was hard to tell since all I can see is a depression which is bounded by walls. I suspect there used to be a bigger structure here but it seems to be gone now. All that is left are several sarcophagi which have been placed within the structure.

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