Burial During Justinian's Plague, Part 2

Just because deaths during the Justinian Plague were so numerous that they couldn't dig graves and had to resort to piling them up in stone towers doesn't mean that "proper" funerary procedures weren't followed.Procopius does state that "At that time all the customary rites of burial were overlooked."A "proper" funeral involved a procession by friends and relatives and a priest to the place of interment—either a tomb or a cemetery plot—with chanting. The priest would have been notified as soon after death as possible, so he could start spraying for the deceased. Relatives would stay with the deceased and read prayers in order to aid the should to understand that it is entering the afterlife.The decedent would be washed and dressed according to their station in the community, and sometimes covered with a white cloth. His or her hands would be crossed on their chest. There was a memorial service at the gravesite and chanting while the body was lowered into its final resting place.This…