Sarcophagi in La Rioja between the end of the Roman world and the rise of the Middle Ages

In the territory of La Rioja, the rise of Christianity began from the 4th century onwards, and progressively advanced within the cities and rural areas. The elites played an important role in making the spread of this creed possible with the construction of new temples, some of them privately founded. But it was also necessary to establish new funeral spaces in accordance with the traditions of the new religion. The use of the sarcophagus by these aristocracies was a source for prestige. Some of them were placed in mausoleums inside churches with a clear intention of being remembered and to add religious pre-eminence to the political, economic and social power they already had. Others were buried in cemeteries, either urban or rural, but always in graves that showed their privileged status. The aim of the present work is to analyse the undecorated sandstone sarcophagi that can be considered as locally produced and those that were imported from the different workshops located in the province of Burgos.