Archaeologists in southwestern France have discovered a Roman pyre burial containing a collection of high-status grave goods, shedding light on the elite of the Imperial period in the region. The burial was located near the Dordogne River at Lamonzie-Saint-Martin, in the Dordogne department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.

Excavations were carried out by the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), initially aimed at investigating traces of a previously recorded Neolithic settlement.

Instead, the team uncovered a single Roman grave containing cremated human remains alongside valuable offerings, including coins, gold objects, crystals, and a remarkable intaglio ring engraved with Greek inscriptions.

The burial follows a bustum-type method, in which the funeral pyre is built directly over a shallow pit. As the body and pyre burn, the structure collapses into the pit, after which the remains and associated items are covered with soil to seal the grave.

Excavation of the pit’s contents revealed ash, charcoal, cremated bones, and an array of grave goods. These were documented using photogrammetry, enabling archaeologists to produce a detailed 3D reconstruction of the burial before the items were removed.

Among the finds was a terra sigillata beaker, a reddish, high-quality tableware likely crafted in the Montans workshops around the turn of the 1st to 2nd centuries AD.

The southern section of the pit contained the most exceptional artifacts: approximately ten Roman coins, including sestertii and asses, intermingled with delicate gold sheets that may have once decorated a purse or wooden container.

Crystals, originally mounted on an organic material now decayed, were recovered alongside the bone fragments. In total, archaeologists documented 22 gold objects, including wires, droplets, and a twisted gold bracelet featuring a loop clasp. This bracelet is believed to have functioned as a bulla pendant, a protective ornament typically worn by elite Roman youths.