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Fragment of Sarcophagus with a Sea-Centaur and the Dead

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Until the 2nd century AD the Romans followed the Greek and Etruscan practice of cremating their dead. The ashes were placed in a funerary or cinerary urn. The urns were frequently sculptured and had a stylized representation of the deceased on the lid. This practice was to continue until the end of the 1st century AD. For the wealthier families the urn might be placed in an altar and a sculptured tombstone might be commissioned; these acts were to memorialize the dead. From the 2nd century burials became more popular and by the 3rd century AD it was the standard practice. The poor were buried in cemeteries outside the town or city limits to avoid pollution within the town or city; the wealthy were also buried in the same cemeteries but often in elaborate tombs or sarcophagi within them. (Sarcophagus is from the Greek ‘sarxsark’ meaning ‘flesh’ and ‘sarkophagos’ meaning ‘flesh eating’). Most sarcophagi in Rome were placed against a wall or niche in these tombs or mausolea; therefore they were usually only decorated on the front and the two short sides. 2 nd c BC cinerary urn with scene of battle between centaurs and Greeks, now Perugia, Umbria (left) & 1st c AD tombstone of Roman legionnaire, Mainz, Germany (right) For the wealthy, carved sarcophagi were characteristic. These were usually of marble or, less frequently, of limestone and were frequently elaborately carved with scenes from Greek mythology reflecting the taste of upper class Romans for Greek culture. Other decorative themes illustrated aspects of the deceased’s personal and professional life and included battle and hunting scenes or biographical events from 2 the life of the deceased. A large number were decorated with garlands of flowers, foliage or fruits. 2nd c sarcophagus from Ostia Antico – Centauromachy 2nd c sarcophagus from Ostia Antico – Death of Hector The main production centres were in Rome and Northern Italy during the 2nd century and early 3rd century AD. The raw material such as marble from Carrara or Proconnessos Island, near the Dardanelles, finished or part-finished sarcophagi were shipped to other parts of the Mediterranean. By the late 3rd century workshops were established at several points along the coast of the Western Mediterranean such as Arles, Narbonne and Tarragona and, later, at Marseilles. There was even a production centre that used marble from Saint-Béat, in what is now in the Haute-Garonne of France. The centres in Marseilles, which became active in the 5th century, and in Narbonne employed limestone for many of the sarcophagi. During the 3rd and 4th centuries these outlying centres of production followed the styles of those from Rome and North Italy which were a blend of Eastern and Western influences. With the sack of Rome by the Goths under Aleric between AD 410 and 420 the Italian dimension declined; the wealthy in Italy no longer continued the custom of burying their dead in ostentatious tombs or sarcophagi and trade links to the rest of the Mediterranean declined. However, the Visigoths established themselves in Septimania and their influence spread West to Aquitaine; they absorbed and developed the Roman custom of using a sarcophagus for the deceased.

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ancient
architecture
Relief
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