Some Greeks chose to have themselves cremated as evidenced by this selection of Hadra hydrias, jars which contained the charred remains of bodies. The jars were placed in little niches cut in the rock, near the loculi intended for inhumations. Anthropologists specializing in cremation burial have been able to examine the contents of these jars and determine the sex, age and illnesses of their occupants. Sometimes, the name of the dead person, that of the magistrate who authorized the cremation, and the date of death are painted or engraved on the shoulder of the jar. These date to the mid-third century B.C.