Funerary practices and monuments at Hierapolis of Phrygia. The roman and byzantine tombs in the sanctuary of St Philip

The investigations and research concerning the church and tomb of St Philip recently discovered at Hierapolis of Phrygia provide new elements for the reconstruction of the different phases of the eastern hill overlooking the city. The archaeological and anthropological investigations, carried out since 2010 by the Italian Archaeological Mission, offer an important documentation related to the monuments and the funerary practices attested in the extensive necropolis of the Roman and Byzantine periods. This contribution presents the results of archaeological excavations, anthropological analyzes and archaeometric analyzes, the latter performed on the fragments of fabric found in the mid-Byzantine tombs. In the western sector of the hill, the Roman funerary buildings are still visible today, while in the eastern part, occupied during the Byzantine time by the Sanctuary of St Philip, only the tomb of the apostle is preserved. However, the excavations carried out inside the church have brought to light different types of funerary monuments of the Roman necropolis, preceding the installation of the ecclesial building. For the middle Byzantine period it was possible to investigate some depositions made after the partial collapse of the church and the consequent defunctionalization of the central nave. These individual graves, signalized by funerary markers, are intended for adult men, buried in blue clothes, most likely to be recognized as members of the clergy or monks who ran the sanctuary.