The broad geographic span and collective expertise documented in this volume make it an essential resource for any scholar working on stone sarcophagi from the Roman and late antique periods. The volume stems from a conference dedicated to Roman sarcophagi in the provinces, their conservation and polychromy, and reuse and reception. In recent decades the scope of sarcophagus studies has expanded beyond its previous focus on the ‘three production centres’ of yesteryear (Rome, Athens, Dokimeion). This collection of papers further expands the scholarly reference points, incorporating exciting new work on stone sarcophagi from Spain to the Levant. The geographic focus skews towards western provinces, with six entries on materials from Roman Iberia (the volume belongs to the Iberica Selecta series). Only two entries feature eastern provinces; with so much recent work on sarcophagi from this region, one might wish for a greater presence. No contributors address the corpora from Roman Africa. The representation of central and western Mediterranean contexts is commendable, enhancing the overall picture of stone sarcophagi crafted under Roman rule.
After several decades of intensive archaeometric investigations, a new wave of research considers the exterior patina and traces of polychromy that help to reconstruct the ancient appearance of sarcophagi. The first line of inquiry relates to trade networks, while the second shifts to viewer experience and reception. Many, if not most, of the volume’s contributors address both stone origins and surface treatment, to a greater or lesser extent, along with standard discussions of typology and iconography. Other prominent themes include archaeological context, the focus of M. Bonanno Aravantinos’s essay. Antiquarian interests in and aesthetic preferences for Roman sarcophagi, and how these set the stage for later approaches towards sarcophagi and the history of reception, are further growing fields of study. These serve as a bridge between decontextualised sarcophagi in collections and their ancient provenances.
The overarching theme of the book allows for felicitous correlations and interactions for readers to draw between different essays. A more substantive introductory essay and some dialogue between authors (beyond those working together on the sarcophagi from Hispania) would have amplified the usefulness of this important volume. In many places efforts are still needed to establish a basic corpus as in Moesia Inferior and southern Gaul. In these cases one would wish for at least preliminary summaries, including a minimum number of sarcophagi with subdivisions of type and material. The essay by Claveria provides one helpful paradigm, and D. Bielefeld another. A map of sites referenced in the text would be helpful. Regularisation of language or a glossary might be desirable (e.g. C.-G. Alexandrescu’s use of arcae to denote sarcophagus chests seems to represent a historiographical rather than an epigraphical application, not appearing elsewhere in the volume).
The book includes eighteen essays after the introduction. These are divided into four categories: invited papers (two); provincial sarcophagi (eleven); conservation/restoration and polychromy (two); and reception (three).
Two ‘Invited Talks’ follow a brief introduction to the volume by Claveria and Trunk. First, I. Rodà presents the state of the study of stone sarcophagi found in Hispania, a broad-scope contribution and a helpful way to open such a volume. Historiography, archaeometry, spolia and chronological debates form the core of her contribution. Next, Bonanno Aravantinos considers several far-flung cases of in situ sarcophagi excavated in Greece: at Fiscardo (ancient Panormos) on the island of Cefalonia, Závali in Epirus, Ekklesies in Laconia and Ardanio in Thrace. These discoveries join a growing number of sarcophagi excavated within their archaeological context in Roman Greece.
The next eleven papers further expand the discussion on provincial sarcophagi. The various detailed contributions in this section largely update the regional summaries of H. Sichtermann and G. Koch (Römische Sarkophage [1982]). Deeply interconnected data appears; for example, imported stone distribution patterns, design motifs and inscriptions in Gaul and Hispania have considerable overlap. The recent, extensive research in the Danube region has transformed and added to the growing body of work on eastern and now western sarcophagi, not to mention the city of Rome and the Italian peninsula, addressing a major lacuna in sarcophagus studies.
F. Ciliberto and D. Massara consider seven Hellenistic and early Imperial burial containers excavated at the Dominus Flevit Sanctuary in Jerusalem. Through a granular study of dimension and decoration the authors argue that their sample represents sarcophagi rather than ossuaries, some intended for the interment of non-adults.
Bielefeld offers a sneak peek at her much-anticipated forthcoming publication of the Ephesian corpus of 727 sarcophagi, mostly fragmentary (minus the c. 50 Attic and Attic-inspired sarcophagi published by C. Kintrup, Attische Sarkophage aus Ephesos [2017]). Nearly 300 sarcophagi belong to a distinctive local type traditionally called Halbfabrikate (‘half-finished’), with smoothed, geometric-style garlands draped across the front panel, noted by Bielefeld as a favourite of Ephesian elites. Newly published examples, including a highly unusual imported strigillated sarcophagus from Rome, expand the Ephesian and broader eastern Mediterranean sarcophagus landscape.
The next three chapters deal with north central Mediterranean corpora. First E. Papagianni focuses on Attic sarcophagi from Roman Macedonia, mainly previously unpublished finds from Dion and Kilkis. Papagianni notes the existence of ‘a considerable number of unknown fragments’ in Dion (p. 114) and focuses on a selection of iconographically noteworthy fragments. These demonstrate a previously unrecognised, flourishing luxury market for imported and locally produced sarcophagi in this region. Next, Alexandrescu collates disparate finds from Moesia Inferior, a region noted for its complex cultural hybridity (more Latinised near the Danube, more Hellenised near the Black Sea). She laments the uneven documentation of plain or minimally decorated sarcophagi. The vibrant site Tomis preserves in situ sarcophagi, epigraphical and mortuary evidence for collective burial in sarcophagi, wooden coffins nested within sarcophagi and a local market for individualised pieces.
The scope of B. Djurić’s essay on Pannonia is especially impressive. One must appreciate the encyclopaedic visual catalogue: a minimum of 40 sarcophagi in small thumbnail sizes appear in six figures, nearly 10% of the 385 examples currently documented in Pannonia. However, without a concordance of locations/museums, publication references etc., these illustrations present limited usefulness, despite illustrating the typology carefully narrated in the text. Only Djurić (and Claveria) include a map. The analysis and assessment of data in this chapter, alongside those of Bielefeld and Claveria, effectively conveys extensive knowledge of the large repertoire under study.
The next three contributions in turn consider sarcophagi from Gallia Cisalpina, Gallia Belgica and Gallia Narbonesis. M. Pagan includes a catalogue of the fourteen sarcophagi (only twelve of which are certain) from Verona. Due to heavy reuse and spoliation, only one known example was found in situ. Pagan pays special attention to production processes, from quarry to adaptation of established typologies. Sarcophagus inscriptions suggest owners came from various social strata. Next, Trunk addresses the extensive sarcophagus repertoire at the important late Roman administrative centre of Trier. Surprisingly few marble sarcophagi were discovered there, although the necropolis of St Maximin revealed a minimum of 686 mostly plain limestone sarcophagi. Based on recent studies, such as Pagan’s, the broader sarcophagus landscape of northern Italy remains rife for analysis, while the corpus at Trier, too, apparently awaits comprehensive collation.
V. Gaggadis-Robin starts with a detailed synthesis of local, regionally sourced and imported stone used for sarcophagi in southern Gaul. Previously unknown or unpublished pieces are the focus. Sarcophagi are divided into two iconographic groups: evocations of the deceased (limestone only) and mythological (both limestone and imported marble). Gaggadis-Robin proposes an Arletan workshop specialising in depictions of hydraulic organs. Like the essays of several other contributors, this chapter reflects decades of research.
The last three essays in this section turn to Hispania. Claveria’s commendably broad and inclusive essay considers 131 Roman sarcophagi preserved from Roman Hispania, of which at least 120 are from ancient, rather than post-antique, contexts. 121 additional sarcophagi carry Christian themes. Claveria organises the findings clearly according to stone, chronology and design motif. The close connection between the Hispanic sarcophagus repertoire and metropolitan (city of Rome) production contexts comprises a core feature of the data set. Claveria dates most highly decorated sarcophagi to the third century. She wisely suggests further study on local workshops producing Attic-style sarcophagi, noting wide-ranging studies on this complicated subject. The following two essays compliment and expand this chapter, all part of the same overarching project.
Twenty-nine sarcophagus inscriptions appear on approximately 25% of Roman sarcophagi preserved in Spain today. A. Soler i Nicolau documents each inscribed sarcophagus as artefactual, material evidence, noting the placement of the inscription and accompanying design motifs. Some basic details are needed, for example the self-evident but foundational observation that most inscriptions are in Latin (the author only notes that three inscriptions are in Greek) and closely follow metropolitan epigraphic formulae, including the word used for the coffin (sarcophagum, almost exclusively a western occurrence). Similarly, too, sarcophagi in Hispania were intended primarily for a single interment and purchased by the heirs/survivors. A similar epigraphical record (the use of Latin, formulae and relative patron/dedicant patterns) appear in the sarcophagi illustrated by Gaggadis-Robin.
The last essay in this section is S. Vidal Álvarez’s brief discussion of Christian sarcophagi from Roman Hispania that introduces several recent discoveries and archaeometric studies from the late antique period.
Next, two contributions focus on polychromy and surface treatment. I. Moreno Martínez studies the patina found on four sarcophagi in the Museu d’Archeologia de Catalunya. In a sense the essay focuses more on the evolution of the surface patina over time, and what that means (a kind of reception approach) rather than the Roman-era surface of the sarcophagi. Then E. Siotto offers an exciting window into the polychromatic visual landscape of Roman sarcophagi and the primary and mixed colours still preserved. Siotto presents technical assessment in an accessible manner. The data set was explored at length in her monograph (La policromia sui sarcofagi romani: Catalogo e risultati scientifici [2018]). Siotto states her intention at the outset for the data from Rome to foster comparative research on sarcophagi from the provinces.
The three essays on reception explore antiquarian collection and observation practices, with the unspoken but likely influence of these on later attitudes towards Roman sarcophagi. B. Cacciotti focuses on the acquisition and display of sarcophagi in English collections in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including those of the American financier William Waldorf Astor, Cliveden House and Hever Castle. R. Bucolo highlights the work of J.-P. Hoüel from his publications on Sicily between 1776 and 1779, when Hoüel travelled extensively throughout the island. He subsequently published a four-volume edition containing viste (‘views’) of his travels, and the sarcophagi he illustrated are Bucolo’s focus. Finally, S. García-Martínez considers the practice of sarcophagus collecting in Spain as it relates to the history of classicism and antiquarianism starting as early as 1500 and its subsequent role in influencing taste among the elites.
The amalgamation of data collated in the book and the subjects taken up by its authors (from archaeometry and polychromy to reception) place it among the most important edited volumes on sarcophagi in recent decades. This book reflects new interests in research and demonstrates the health of a vibrant subdiscipline of Roman art dedicated to stone sarcophagi.
