Death is the inevitable end of all living beings. As a fundamental part of the human experience, it is no surprise that death holds immense significance in every society. The inhabitants of Roman-period Palmyra were no exception and, fortunately for us, their funerary practices have left behind a wealth of material. From the first to the third century AD, the Palmyrenes created numerous monuments, inscriptions, burial towers, reliefs and sarcophagi that have captivated scholars and inspired numerous publications. One of the most ambitious undertakings on the subject has been The Palmyra Portrait Project, led by the two editors of the current corpus. Since 2012, the project has brought together a large team of contributors to compile an extensive database of funerary artefacts, including sarcophagi, banqueting reliefs, founder’s reliefs and sarcophagus portraits, all now available in print in two volumes.
The first part of the first volume consists of six chapters. The opening chapter has several objectives, beginning with a brief introduction to the city of Palmyra and its history. This overview, however, is only four pages long and is composed of just two long paragraphs, which makes it quite hard to read. In addition, the structure of this section is disjointed, with an often unclear and illogical progression. In particular, the first paragraph discussing the history of the city left this reader bewildered and confused (pp.41–42). The chapter also includes a three-page literature review; however, it engages with only a limited portion of the existing scholarship. The rationale behind the selection of these few publications, as well as the omission of others, remains unclear. The chapter concludes with a short discussion of sarcophagi in other parts of the Roman Empire. Therefore, like other sections, this part is brief and lacks depth.
A separate but noteworthy issue throughout the book, and already detected in this first chapter, is the haphazard and incomprehensible organisation of this work. The picture captions do not include credits for the images; instead, there is a list of picture credits at the end of each volume which, although a common format, is not very intuitive.
In contrast, the second chapter is well-structured and clearly written. It focuses on the depiction of banquets in ancient societies, particularly in funerary contexts, because this motif is prevalent in the same context in Palmyrene art. The chapter also examines the attire of figures represented on Palmyrene sarcophagi, as well as funerary practices and the various types of burial complexes found in Palmyra.
The third chapter deals with the dates of objects, and the typology and differences in depictions between the different time periods that the editors introduce as distinct categories. The first problem is the definition, as the difference between the “only eleven can be dated with absolute certainty (cat. 1–8, 10–12)” (p.81) and the “brings the total number of precisely dated objects to 104” (p.82), and the general definition “group of dated sarcophagi (cat. 1–12)” (p.83) is unclear, especially as the latter category includes the ones of the first group, as well as an extra one. It becomes increasingly confusing as the sarcophagi (cat. 13–277) are confidently defined as having “secure and dated provenance” (p.83). Accordingly, clearer terminological framework, along with a more thorough explanation of how and why the corpus was divided and organised as it was, would have been beneficial. The remainder of the chapter reveals significant stylistic diversity within each phase, particularly through the descriptions of material and artistic depictions from each period. This calls into question the precision of periodisation and dating based solely on stylistic criteria and makes it difficult to fully understand the distinctions between periods. Notably, only pages 91–92 address the differences between these periods and, even there, the discussion is limited. As in other chapters, the absence of comparative tables further hinders the reader’s ability to fully comprehend and engage with the material presented.
The fourth chapter, titled ‘In situ contexts’ is arguably the most problematic. While it is intended to explain the archaeological context of the finds, it ultimately falls short of what a reader might expect from such a discussion. The chapter is largely composed of brief entries, each devoted to a burial complex (e.g. tower tomb, hypogeum) where sarcophagi were discovered. These entries are arranged according to the date of the complex’s establishment, but this organising principle is not clearly indicated, which makes it difficult for readers who are unfamiliar with the exact chronology and date of each site, subsequently hindering their ability to locate specific entries.
Even when entries are found, their value is limited. Most consist of a single, very short paragraph, and the content varies widely from one to the next. The only consistent element across the entries is the complex’s location in relation to the city. A map with all sites clearly marked, either by name or number, alongside a corresponding table with what site corresponds to each number, would have been helpful to the reader. Moreover, only portions of pages 121–22 attempt to address what one would expect from a contextual discussion.
The fifth chapter is the strongest of the first volume and focuses on iconography. It is well-organised and clear in its presentation. The chapter is followed by lists of sarcophagi, each grouped according to the depiction of specific garments worn by one or more figures. Nevertheless, the use of tables would have enhanced clarity, especially if they included chronological distinctions and additional iconographic elements discussed in the chapter. This would have made it easier for readers to understand stylistic differences across different periods. Furthermore, the placement of an appendix after this chapter is unusual, as seven more appendices follow the catalogue part in volume 2. This adds to the organisational inconsistencies of the volumes.
After the sixth chapter, which serves as the conclusion, there is a ‘Works cited’ section. This section does not pertain solely to the first chapters, but in practice functions as a bibliography for both volumes. Again, a different placement, such as the end of the second volume, would have been more logical and user-friendly.
Following this section is the main part of the corpus, the first part of the catalogue of sarcophagi. One immediately noticeable issue is the absence of introductory texts for each subsection, which would have helped explain the structure and content of what follows. Each entry includes several categories, one of which is labelled ‘References’, indicating past scholarship. However, the content in the other categories rarely, if ever, engages with or reflects on previous research. Moreover, and surprisingly, the entries never refer to parallels or similar works in the rest of the corpus, leaving the reader to hunt for examples themselves. The entries read more like direct excerpts from the project’s database, which was partly compiled and written by the research assistants that are mentioned only in the acknowledgement section. The second volume continues with the catalogue part and seven appendices, with a list of groups of sarcophagi. It is stylistically similar to the catalogue in the first volume and also includes several useful colour plates.
All in all, the current publication builds upon previous scholarship and offers the most comprehensive corpus available to date. Yet, it falls short in several important aspects. One may therefore hope that the editors will produce a revised edition in the future, one in which some of the introductory chapters, particularly Chapters 1, 3 and 4 are substantially revised and restructured.
Furthermore, it would be a significant improvement if each entry engaged more thoroughly with the scholarly debate, referred to other similar works throughout the corpus and if the photographic documentation were completed, especially for entries that currently lack visual representation. Nevertheless, the task of bringing the large corpus of sarcophagi together is commendable, and some chapters are insightful but others will need improvement to bring this work to full potential and would greatly enhance the scholarly value and usability of the publication.
