Object type
sarcophagus
Culture/period
Roman world
Materials
Carrara marble
Technique
sculpting
Mint
Production date
301 / 400
Museum
Museu de Badalona
Current location
Exposició permanent
Archaeological site
Ciutat romana de Baetulo. Bòbila d'en Lleal, Llefià
Township
Badalona (Europa, Espanya, Catalunya, Barcelona, Barcelonès)
Dimensions
47 x 14 x 8 cm
Description
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Fragment of a sarcophagus lid with scenes missing on both sides and broken at the top and bottom, perhaps because it was broken and reused for another function. It was a chance discovery during the extraction of earth from a brick factory, in the old neighborhood of Llefià, which previously covered a much larger territory than it does today.
It is represents a scene from the Old Testament, that of the three young Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, in the furnace of Babylon, where they were forced to throw themselves because they did not want to worship a colossal statue of an idol of gold. But the young people began to pray to God, and the fire left them unscathed.
The characters are in an attitude of praying: of the character on the left, only the left arm and the remains of half of his body can be seen; of the second and third Hebrews the head and body are preserved up to below the waist.
The second has his face looking to the right and the third is almost in profile looking at the scene. They wear Phrygian caps on their heads, with rounded curls sprouting from below, framing the face and covering the ears to the shoulders. They are wearing a short tunic, long sleeves ending in a cuff and a paenula or short cape, which is barely visible, hangs from their neck. The hands are open in an attitude of prayer, although their carving is weak. They have negative eyebrows and trephine points in the tear ducts, nose, corners of the mouth and curls of the hair. The flames of the furnace, which has not been preserved due to the breakage of the lid, are not very clear.
On the extreme right of the fragment, the bust of a beardless character can be seen turned to the left. With short hair, he seems to belong to another scene. Possibly it is Noah in the ark receiving the dove, a scene that often appears in connection with the previous one. Additionally, Noah is in this same position in other sarcophagus lid scenes.
This fragment is a very important element that illustrates the Christian presence in Baetulo, where few pieces from this period are preserved.
© Museu de Badalona
Omeka ID
1892