Object type
sarcophagus
Culture/period
Roman world
Materials
stoneware
Technique
sculpting
Mint
Production date
200 / 400
Museum
Museu de Badalona
Current location
Exposició permanent
Archaeological site
Ciutat romana de Baetulo. L'Estrella
Township
Badalona (Europa, Espanya, Catalunya, Barcelona, Barcelonès)
Dimensions
45 x 50 x 14 cm
Description
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Fragment of a sarcophagus that, due to its strigilated decoration, seems to belong to the late imperial period (3rd-4th century AD).
This motif of undulating striations or grooves is common in Roman funerary decoration. Some say that they symbolize the cleanliness and purity of the buried soul, due to their resemblance to the strigils of athletes or gladiators. The strigil was an elongated spoon-shaped instrument that forms an "S" with which athletes removed sweat and dirt from the skin. In the central part there were some clipei or medallions with the representation of the deceased or figurative scenes.
In Villa de la Estrella, several reused architectural materials (spolia) were recovered, some dumped in late silos (5th-6th century AD). One of them is this sarcophagus fragment. The Via Augusta went by near the town and the necropolises were located along its route on the outskirts of the city.
© Museu de Badalona
Omeka ID
1933