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| Area H (Tombs)
Claude Vigert-Guigue stated that the painted tombs of Abila are the finest in the Middle East. "The painted tombs of Abila are not only fine examples of Roman period painting but they provide valuable material for the comparative study of frescoes of the Roman world." Vibert-Guigue to date all the painted tombs at Abila to the period between the second half of the second century and the beginning of the fourth century A.D. Alix Barbet has found parallels with necropoli in the region of Cilicia, Turkey and especially with those found in southern Russia. Berbet, one of the foremost experts on Roman painting, makes it clear in her final report that the frescoes of Abila are an important addition to the corpus of ancient Roman paintings. It is clear that the score of painted tombs that she studied in conjunction with a few others in Northern Jordan at Som, Capitolias (Beit Ras), and Marwa form a valuable repertoire of finely painted tombs in the Near East. 
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Early Discovery and Preservation The first painted tomb discovered at Abila was in 1959. More painted tombs were discovered in June of 1981, but this time by grave robbers. W. Harold Mare and Sultan Shureidah were investigating the site in preparation for the second campaign of the American expedition when they encountered some local inhabitants exploring a recently robbed tomb. The villagers then led them to another tomb nearby which also had been robbed. When the news reached the headquarters of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan it was determined that these unique and exquisitely frescoed tombs must be investigated immediately. However, the American team of archaeologists, which had begun work at Abila in the summer of 1980, was not scheduled to return for another year. It was also clear that these paintings should be examined by a team of specialists. Adnan Hadidi, the Director of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, working through the French Institute of Near Eastern Archaeology, and with the consent of the Director of the American excavation, W. Harold Mare, requested that Alix Barbet examine the tombs. She assembled a team and with the assistance of Claude Vibert-Guigue they began their work. Their task was three fold: document the wall paintings through photography and drawings, conserve and protect these frescos from vandalism and the elements, and on some occasions attempt to restore the frescos. The tombs were numbered according to their order of discovery and many of them were given descriptive names. These descriptive names were chosen either because of a distinctive artistic motif or because the name of one of the deceased was found painted on the walls. 
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Extensive tomb excavations were conducted along Wadi Quailibah at Abila since 1982. Sixty-four burial sites were excavated and studied (in areas H, J, K, L, and M; the last area, M, is located on Umm el-'Amad, just south of the theater cavea). These included tombs, graves, and one columbarium. The tomb types include those with a central chamber with loculi or arcosolia radiating around it--sometimes there was a combination of both. Some central tomb chambers had sumps in them, and often the loculi or arcosolia were plastered over and painted. Three Levels of Society Sometimes shaft graves were dug and stone sarcophagi were also used. From the types of the tombs, from their frescoes or lack of them, and from the quantity and kind of grave goods, it is projected that the there were at least three strata of society living at Abila in the Roman-Byzantine period. Tombs with extensively frescoed walls and ceilings and quantities of well-made grave goods point to an affluent class; unfrescoed but central-chambered tombs with loculi and/or arcosolia and moderate amounts of grave goods point to a large middle class; and the simple shaft graves with few or no grave goods point to a less affluent laboring class living at this Decapolis site. The presence of several inscribed crosses on the walls of some tombs, the evidence of food offerings (tomb LI 5), the presence of columbaria (L4), and the presence of small bronze bells to ward off evil, for example point to a strong religious emphasis at Abila. The majority of the tombs thus far investigated have been from the Late Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. Two tombs were considerably earlier: H13, Middle Bronze/Late Bronze; and HIO, Late Bronze/Iron Age. 
 (click on images to enlarge) Christian Elements
Another interesting point concerning the Abila painted tombs is that Barbet found no trace of Christian elements in their artwork and decoration. While Barbet does not further examine this point, it would seem that this must lead to one of the following conclusions: first, that Christianity did not spread to Abila until after the beginning of the fourth century, or that legal restrictions on practicing Christianity led to the absence of Christian motifs in the artwork of these painted tombs. Another conclusion might be that perhaps Christianity had not yet spread to the elite classes at Abila. Certainly these finely decorated tombs could only be afforded by the wealthiest of Abilites. |
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| © 2003. Abila Archaeologoical Project. All images are property of the Abila Archaeological Project.
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