![]() The first curule chairs were built and used in Etruria, central Italy. In ancient Rome, curule chairs were a symbol of high social status, and this symbolic message was echoed in other civilizations and historical periods. If you’ve seen the picture of Napoleon Bonaparte at his coronation and reception in 1805, you would have noticed the finely crafted curule seat that was part of the celebration.Ĭurule chairs originated in ancient Roman times and were used throughout Europe until the dawn of the 20 th century. Like other curule chairs, the chair in its unfolded position resembles the letter “X.” It is interesting to note that a lot of modern furniture, usually in the form of small, generally portable tables and chairs, follows this design style.Ī folding Spanish wooden curule chair, which shows how the design of this kind of chair progressed steadily from ancient Roman times. The curule chair seating design indicates that leather or fabric straps were once stretched across the seat. Made from iron, this fabulous find is glazed with bronze, and was found folded up. The choicest find from the second pyre was the Roman folding curule chair. (©Emmanuel Ferber, INRAP ) The Grand History of Roman Curule Chairs The metal remains of the recently found Roman curule chair as it was discovered. The food evidence in this pyre included wine, lentils, beans, cow, pig, rabbit, fish, partridge and duck! In addition to this, a pair of beautiful gold earrings, golden embroidery on a finely woven fabric, and a silver strigil were also found in the second pyre. In all the second pyre contained 20 ceramic vases, 20 glass containers, 46 bronze utensils and crockery, and even more lavish food deposits. The votive offerings in this pyre were more or less the same but there were more of them. The second pyre was built for an adult, as evidenced by the remains and the furniture found in it. Queen of Pyramids: The Powerful Hetepheres I and her Magnificent Tomb.The Magnificent Tomb and Treasures of Forgotten Couple Yuya and Tuya.Contemporary records of the time indicate that such high-quality foods were definitely markers of higher social status. These included wine, lentils, beans, pork and a domesticated rooster. Interestingly, the glass containers contained food remnants that revealed the luxurious dietary possibilities in that period. The pyre also held the remains of a young child (5-8 years old). The first pyre was richly endowed and contained 17 ceramic vessels, 10 bronze vases, four glass containers, a funeral bed, several boxes, and three copper-alloy strigils (a Greek/Roman scrapping tool for cleaning the body). The Inrap report about the Epagny Metz-Tessy finds describes the funeral pyre artifacts in great detail. (©Emmanuel Ferber, INRAP ) The Funeral Pyres: Artifact Treasure and a Rare Curule Chair Their recent scientific report provides detailed insights into the nature of the artifacts found within the Roman funeral pyres of Epagny Metz-Tessy, France.Ī small portion of the high-class Roman grave goods found in the second funeral pyre. The French archaeological research group Inrap (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research), under the leadership of scientific manager Emmanuel Farber, has taken over management of the site. And from the evidence found one can immediately understand that the Romans buried their dead with their possessions, a practice common to many other cultures, and that this particular site, based on the furniture unearthed there, was dedicated to a pair of aristocrats or otherwise elite Romans. The remarkable curule chair was a rare find among a wider range of high-class burial artifacts.Ĭlearly these funeral pyres were perfect examples of Roman burial rituals 2000 years ago. The burial artifacts included a stunning Roman military ruler’s curule chair and furniture associated with the upper classes. ![]() After an SNC group carried out routine inspections and excavations prior to giving the all-clear on new housing construction on the site, they stumbled upon two Roman funeral pyres from the 1 st century AD. Recently, two amazing discoveries were made in the commune of Epagny Metz-Tessy, in the Haute-Savoie department in southeastern France, near Annecy.
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