TOMBS

The inside of the early Christian church is filled with numerous tombs of varying types: the most important are congregated in the “privileged” areas such as the chancel, the apses and the solea (the central corridor). Large stone tombs covered with slabs of local Bardiglio marble, or smaller ones coated with a reddish mortar and covered with reused Roman bricks; from sarcophagi to simple wooden boxes, these sepulchres bear witness to the funeral practices from the 5th to the 8th century CE. Burial started to become widespread practice from the 2nd century CE until it became the norm in the Christian period. The deceased were wrapped in a shroud, then lain on a wooden bed with their upper limbs placed on their chest, their abdomen, or pelvis.
Particularly worthy of note are the grave goods of two important male figures of Nordic origin dating from the mid-7th century: buckles damascened with geometric and animal motifs characteristic of Burgundian or Langobardic culture, soapstone beakers and a knife for everyday use. The funerary inscriptions of three illustrious bishops of Aosta from the early Christian period are held in San Lorenzo: Gratus (buried on 7th September 470 and today patron saint of the diocese), Agnellus (buried in 526) and Gallus (buried on 5th October 546).