Roman Funerary Art

In the ancient Mediterranean, representations of architectural construction are exclusive to the Roman oeuvre-at least fifteen exempla from diverse contexts portray construction in its narrative form, as a process through time. Because of its inherent variety, this genre tends either to be separated into typological echo-chambers, or subsumed under broader studies of ancient technology, which mine for the accuracy of depicted tools and processes not extant in textual or archaeological sources. This paper considers this compilation's holistic art-historical value. While no single or simple paradigm applies to this mélange, consistencies in composition and iconography reveal that Romans took pleasure in viewing construction, and in viewing themselves as a constructing force. I argue that, in such representations , the act of building-or rather, the peculiar impulse to depict building in artistic terms-inhabits and intentionally exploits the nexus between ideological and aesthetic value. In other words, such representations were often employed to exert iconological impact in the expression of Roman identities. Grouping the fifteen representations-very loosely and somewhat unconven-tionally-by the temporal moment of the scene allows for comparisons prevented by previous methodologies, like those between "public" and domestic contexts. What I call "commemorative" scenes depict construction that occurred within recent memory, and are predominantly found in sepulchral or votive contexts. "His-torical" scenes represent construction in the distant past, as a moment that exists within collective memory; these mostly refer to the origins of Rome. "Mythologi-cal" scenes do not represent any "mortal" or specific time or event. Tracing the presence or absence of iconographic tropes-especially machi-nae-reveals that different methods of building are depicted in different types of representations, in accordance with context and desired connotation. Distinct iconographic formulae map onto distinct identities. Generally, those put up as commemorative monuments by nonimperial individuals, like the Haterii reliefs, emphasize building as an integral aspect of "being Roman": they highlight technology and manpower, underscore the procedural elements, and focus on the narrative sequence, presenting the process itself as the true achievement. Within the imperial visual apparatus, e.g., on Trajan's column, construction literally connotes "civilization" in the transitive sense, representing the transmission of Rome's civic and sociocultural footprint. The column depicts no building machinery; the emphasis lies instead in the "tactile" element of construction: the soldiers grab and place ashlar blocks by hand in an intentionally primitive, rusticated manner, which indicates that the presentation of symbolic meaning takes precedence over the veritas of the process.

There is ample evidence of Roman children being consecrated to deities whom the parents turned to and asked for protection of their offspring during the early stages of their lives, when they were in constant danger of becoming victims of an untimely death or being approached by malevolent demons. The evidence can be derived first and foremost from written sources.
When it comes to figural representations, though, the picture gets somewhat blurred: although there is the undisputed iconographic tradition of the “Horus lock” handed down from Ancient Egypt to Roman art which produced quite a number of depictions of children with this very feature, the so far generally assumed connection with the cult of Isis has to be reconsidered.
Whereas until now nearly every portrait of a child with a peculiar lock of hair – located at the right, the left or the back of the head, longer or shorter, bound, forming a kind of tail, in combination with short-cropped hair, with or without a fillet, etc. – has been taken as depiction of a child close to the mystery cult of Isis, methodologically it is much more sound to look carefully at every individual depiction to assess the kind and degree of this connection, or even if such a connection can safely be established at all.

The funerary cippus of Alexander, a physician settled in Rome in 1st century AD, shows the text of the epitaph and the image of the deceased. In the former, engraved in Latin, both the name of the physician and the reference to a famous Greek doctor maybe are signs of a foreign origin. The latter presents Alexander in a dignified attitude not usual in the iconography of this kind of cippi: the doctor appears seated, dressed in a toga and holding a volumen in his hands. Moreover, another figure in the representation perhaps characterizes an Alexander disciple. Could the different elements of the picture confirm the Greek origin of the deceased?
In the Roman world, the sepulchral sphere became a suitable context for self-representation and own identity display: the funerary monument was the result of an intentional selection of details and information, that is, the consequence of a construction of memory. The death in a distant land could be a strong component for this construction. The aim of this paper is to delve into these questions by examining the funerary cippus of Alexander. We will separate the different elements of the image and we will analyze them by looking for signs of external allusions. The comparison with the archetypal Greek funerary iconography and with the representations of physicians in the same time will be crucial in this task. In this way, we will try to demonstrate that the representation allude to the foreign origin of the deceased.
Through the analysis of Alexander’s gravestone, we aim: a) to decode in comprehensive manner iconographic elements as “transmitters” of construction of memory and identity; b) and to observe what extent these elements denote the foreign origin of the doctor. With this methodological approach, we want to contribute to the knowledge and comprehension of funerary monuments as support of self-representation in the Roman world.

This paper present a new photogrammetric reconstruction of the burial  feature  known  as  the  Tower  of  the  Scipios  raised  adjacent  to  the  Via  Augusta  6  km  northeast  of  Tarraco.  The  previous  published  restitution  of  the  funerary  carmen  on  a  tabula  ansata  identifies  the  tomb  as  a  cenotaph.  Moreover,  its  decorative  elements  made  of  local  stone  date  the  feature  to  the  turn  of  the  era.  However,  the  two  images  of  Atis  decorating  its  frontal  are  exceptional  in  this  timeframe.  The  discovery  in  Mataró  of  a  funerary  plaque  of  L. Marcius Optatus, the  first  duumvir quinquennalis  of  the  municipium Iluro,  later member  of  the  equestrian  order  (praefectus Asturiae,  tribunus militum leg II Augustae) who  met  his  death  in  Phrygia,  offers  fundamental  evidence  as  Marcius  is  cited  as  an  aedilis in Tarraco  before  assuming  his  remaining  cursus  honorum.  Your  family  in  Tarraco  where  they  were  obliged  to pay tribute to his memory by raising another monumentum. This also  clearly  explains  the  choice  of  the  representation  of  Attis,  the  funerary  deity  of  Phrygia  and  all  of  Asia  Minor

This paper present a new photogrammetric reconstruction of the
burial feature known as the Tower of the Scipios raised adjacent to
the Via Augusta 6 km northeast of Tarraco. The previous published
restitution of the funerary carmen on a tabula ansata identifies the
tomb as a cenotaph. Moreover, its decorative elements made of
local stone date the feature to the turn of the era. However, the
two images of Atis decorating its frontal are exceptional in this
timeframe. The discovery in Mataró of a funerary plaque of the
first five-year duumviri of the Iluronense municipality of L. Marcio
Optato, a member of the equestrian order who met his death in
Phrygia, offers fundamental evidence as Marcio is cited as an aedile
in Tarraco before assuming his remaining cursus honorum. The
artefact would place his family in Tarraco where they were obliged
to pay tribute to his memory by raising another monumentum. This
also clearly explains the choice of the representation of Attis, the
funerary deity of Phrygia and all of Asia Minor.

The article presents some new marble stelae from the Colonia Augusta Emerita, and, adding them to those examples already known, reconsiders the typological-formal catalogue of this type of funerary monument. In addition, it discusses important technical details related to the creation, function and location of these stelae within the funerary areas of Emerita.

Bucolic sarcophagi, being the most popular genre of figural sarcophagi, occupy a central place in the history of Roman archaeology and art. But what did their imagery actually reference, and what was its allure? For traction this article proposes that we ‘listen to the silences’ in the imagery, paying attention to what is absent as well as present. Why, for example, were pastoral scenes so much more popular than agricultural ones? And why are there so very many with sheep — but so few with cattle? Focusing on these lacunae, I demonstrate, helps us to better reconstruct the valence that these objects possessed in the Roman visual imagination. In more concrete terms, this allows us to (1) gain a richer understanding of why bucolic motifs were so often combined with ‘philosopher’ imagery; and (2) address the extent to which the bucolic sarcophagi did or did not target the interests of specific political classes (with ramifications for understanding who bought them).