Unfinished funerary monuments at Pula

Akten zum 2. Osterreichischen

„Romerstein-TreVen“

2006 in Salzburg

Herausgegeben von

Volker Ho¤ck † Felix Lang † Wolfgang Wohlmayr

Phoibos Verlag� Wien 2007

Gedruckt mit Unterstutzung durch:

Universitat Salzburg

Stiftungs- und Forderungsgesellschaft der Paris-Lodron-Universitat Salzburg

Jubilaumsfonds der Osterreichischen Nationalbank

BibliograWsche Information Der Deutschen BibliothekDie Deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen NationalbibliograWe;detaillierte bibliograWsche Daten sind im Internet uber http://dnb.ddb.de abrufbar.

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche BibliothekDie Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche NationalbibliograWe;detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de.

Einbandgestaltung: Grabstele des Titus Flavius Ateboduus (vgl. Taf. 35); Photo: N. Heger; digitaleVerfremdung: M. Del-Negro.

Copyright # 2007, Phoibos Verlag, Wien. All rights reservedwww.phoibos.at; [email protected]

Printed in Austria: Robitschek & Co. Ges.m.b.H., 1050 Wien

ISBN 978-3-901232-93-0

137

Unfinished funerary monuments at Pula

Alka Starac

Unfinished stelae and sarcophagi made of local Istrian limestone and Prokonnesos

marble shed some light on workshop processes and provide the necessary evidence to prove that funerary monuments were manufactured in local stone-dressing workshops. Six unfinished funerary monuments from Istria are discussed.

Numerous fragments of Roman funerary monuments are kept in the Archaeological

Museum of Istria at Pula; a significant portion of them was on more than one occasion discussed in specialized publications1. The discoveries of unfinished monuments, i.e. of individual unfinished stelae and sarcophagi made of local Istrian limestone, and Prokonnesos marble, are of particular interest to us because they shed some light on workshop processes and provide the necessary evidence to prove that funerary monuments were manufactured in local stone-dressing workshops.

Stelae represented the artistically simplest funerary monument inherited from Greek art, which was two-dimensional in its basic conception. These monuments arrived to Roman Histria together with the colonists from Cisalpine Gaul during the 1st century BC, gradually developing from the simplest, unadorned ones to stelae that were rich in relief and had an architectonic structure. Architectonic stelae were among the most widely spread types of stelae in Roman Histria, they had a gable and pilasters, and were equally loved by different social categories such as slaves, freedmen, Italic colonists, Histrian autochthons, and soldiers, which, however, were all of average financial circumstances. The span of the greatest popularity of stelae equipped with a gable and pilasters was limited to the Julian-Claudian period. These monuments were equally scattered in urban and rural settlements on the Istrian Peninsula2.

Nevertheless it should be stressed that among the funerary monuments from the colony of Pula, the vast majority of stelae are of the simplest, unadorned kind, whereas architectonically and figurally decorated stelae appear in a relatively small number. In a colony where from its very founding there existed a dominant artistic influence directly from Rome and central Italy, funerary monuments with a rectangular or cubiform body (arae, aediculae, mausolea), decorated with diverse ornaments in the upper section, reigned supreme in necropoleis during the early imperial period3. Architectonic and portrait stelae were always primarily associated either with the rural population in the ager of the colony, or with immigrants from other regions of northern Italy.

Sarcophagi made their way into necropoleis at Pula at a more intense pace from the middle of the 2nd century AD, following the spreading of the inhumation rite. According to origin, we distinguish specimens made of marble, imported mostly in an unfinished, raw state from the Aegean, the rather rare Attic sarcophagi that were imported in an already finished state4, and local products made of Istrian limestone, which were inspired by an intensive 1 IIt X/1; ILJug 1963, 415–434; ILJug 1978, 1199–1206; Reichel 1892; Reichel 1893; Gnirs 1915; Jurkić-Girardi 1970, 27–52; Jurkić 1973, 359–382; Marušić 1980–1981, 74; Šašel & Marušić 1984, 295–313 nr. 8–40; Notiziario epigrafico 1994, 261–287; Matijašić 1997, 99–115; Starac 1995, 69–95; Starac 2000a, 233–248. 2 Hatt 1952, 18; Degrassi 1962, 659; Mansuelli 1956, 365–384; Mansuelli 1967; Pflug 1989, 17; Starac 2000b, 85. 3 Starac 1995, 69–95. 4 Cambi 1988, 22.

Alka Starac

138

influence coming from Aquileian workshops that imitated motifs coming from imported Greek sarcophagi5. Sarcophagi, in general, first began to be used by members of the wealthy urban aristocracy that followed fashionable trends from Rome6, however, the fragmentary state of sarcophagi discovered at Pula does not allow a concrete attestation of the leading role of the decurionic class in this respect. Sarcophagi decorated on the foreside with erotes carrying the central, rectangular inscription panel, overshadowed with their popularity in Istria every other type of sarcophagus during the second half of the 2nd century AD. The number of sarcophagi with erotes holding an inscription panel, which were made of local limestone, and the existence of unfinished sarcophagi made of limestone of this type (Taf. 24.3; 25.1,2), bear witness to the stone-dressing workshops active at Pula and in its immediate vicinity during the second half of the 2nd century AD and during the entire 3rd century AD. During the 2nd century AD the foreside of a sarcophagus usually displays a schematically developed mantle of older funerary monuments with a rectangular body: located in the middle is an inscription panel upheld on the left and right by standing erotes in smaller rectangular panels. A similar conception is also noticeable on the unfinished sarcophagus of Cincia Aphrodisia, made of Prokonnesos marble (Taf. 24.2). Towards the end of the 2nd century AD this simple plan assumes architectonic forms that will be dominant in the 3rd century: a gable above the inscription panel, and arcades in the lateral panels (Taf. 25.2)7.

The questions regarding workshops always arise when studying the more important collections of stone monuments stemming from a specific territorial whole. Pula is located in an area rich with limestone of quality that is appropriate for both architectural and artistic use. Beside the workshop (or a greater number of workshops) that served the colony of Pula itself, it was possible to single out a local workshop bound to the inhabited area around Galižana, roughly ten kilometers inland to the north of Pula. Portrait stelae were a specialty of this workshop8. It seems that the coastal region on the western shores of Istria, facing the islands of Brioni, from Valbandon to Barbariga, forms another separate micro-regional workshop zone. By far the largest number of monuments was hewn out of Istrian limestone that was extracted traditionally since the prehistoric period to the present on various sites at Pula and its immediate and more distant surroundings9. A smaller number of monuments was made of imported materials, for the most part of Prokonnesos marble, and there are certain specimens manufactured of white Pentelico marble.

Sarcophagi cases, lids, and three exceptionally interesting specimens of unfinished sarcophagi that give ample evidence of their local manufacture, were singled out within the group of sarcophagi decorated in relief. An unfinished sarcophagus of Prokonnesos marble was formed in an easily recognizable tradition, characteristic for the wider region of the northern Adriatic, including Istria. On the basis of its tripartite conception it is possible to determine that the unfinished sarcophagus made of Prokonnesos marble with a chiseled inscription referring to the owner (Taf. 24.2) belongs to the assemblage of north-Italic sarcophagi; it was exported from a quarry in the Sea of Marmara in a raw state, so that it could acquire its final artistic definition upon arrival to its destination, which was in this case Pula. The fragments of unfinished sarcophagi made of local limestone (Taf. 24.3; 25.1–3) are devoid of text, and have incomplete inscription panels, as distinguished from the marble sarcophagus under Taf. 24.2 that definitively became “private property of its final user”. In

5 Gabelmann 1973, 39, 209. 6 Rebecchi 1977, 109. 7 Cambi 1994. 8 Starac 2000b, 75. 9 Mirabella Roberti 1938, 242; Crnković 1997, 11–19; Crnković 1991, 63–67; Zlatunić 2006, 201.


139

such a state they could be included among the standardized semi manufactures from the stone-dressing workshop (or several of them) at Pula, which were only awaiting their buyers in the storehouse. By a combination of circumstances they were stopped at an earlier stage on their way from production level to final consumer, in comparison with the sarcophagus of Cincia Aphrodisia listed under Taf. 24.2. In the case of the fragment listed under Taf. 24.3, we can discern several artistic execution errors committed by the stonemason, which could have been a reason for the product to be commercially worthless, hence it was left unfinished and was written off as workshop waste material.

Catalogue Taf. 24.1. A stele made of reddish limestone, it was broken into several parts, the base is

missing. The shallow pilasters, 8 cm wide, decorated with vegetable motifs, have Corinthian capitals that are 14 cm in height, in which, above a single row of short, smooth leaves, volutes are coming out of smooth chalices. The capitals support the smooth architrave, 10 cm high, followed by an everted lath, 3.4 cm high, and a flat lath, 2.4 cm high, and an equally emphasized gable with acroteria in the shape of palmettes, 24 cm high. The gable and acroteria were made in relief on a flat background. The inscription panel is 45 cm wide and empty. The surfaces of the upper- and lateral sides are coarsely leveled. In the center of the pediment is the head of Medusa, her eyes without pupils, snakes coming out of her hair to the forehead. The linear depiction of hair is similar to hair or beard depictions on mythological figures, as seen on architraves of the earlier Julian-Claudian period10. Dated to the first half of the 1st century AD, probably to the Claudian period, in accordance with the type of stele with pilasters decorated with vegetable motifs11, and the depiction of Medusa. H. 153 cm (incom.), w. 69 cm (com.), l. 29 cm (com.). Discovered at: Sv. Petar near Kaldanija, Buje, 1928. Located at: AMI Pula, lapidarium, Hall I, inv. no. A 27. Literature: Degrassi 1928, 399; Jurkić-Girardi 1970, 37 Taf. IV, 1.

Taf. 24.2. The sarcophagus of Cincia Aphrodisia, made of Prokonnesos marble, without a lid.

The text reads: Cincia Aphrodisia / viva posuit sibi. Located on the foreside is an unframed but smooth inscription panel, 155 cm wide and 51 cm high. The remainder of the foreside, the backside, and the lateral sides are coarsely dressed, without any ornamentation. The edge of the opening is flat, narrowed on the sides with broad declivities. The sarcophagus remained partially unfinished, which testifies that it was imported directly, in a “raw” state, and as such it was also utilized, but for a single intervention in conjunction with the making of the inscription panel, perhaps due to the urgency of the situation. The tripartite composition on the foreside reflects a characteristic north-Italic scheme. The completed inscription panel, together with the text, proves that the sarcophagus was bought and that it became the private property of the lady in question. According to the simple tripartite division of the front surface, the sarcophagus was completed somewhere on the northern Adriatic, most probably at Pula, and could belong to the second half of the 2nd century AD. H. 67 cm (com.), w. 72 cm (com.), l. 216 cm (com.). Discovered at: Pula, Calle della Pietà near the Amphitheatre, 1904. Located at: behind the AMI Pula, inv. no. A 536. Literature: IIt X/1 252.

10 Fischer 1996, 143–158. 11 Galliazzo 1976, 133 nr. 35.

Alka Starac

140

Taf. 24.3. The front left corner from a sarcophagus made of limestone, coarsely dressed in the interior. Preserved on the left lateral side is half of the framed relief panel with a depiction of a rich festoon with leaves, fruits and pinecones. The festoon is at the end tightened with a double cuff and tied with light, fluttering ribbons. The left and, partially, the central rectangular panel are preserved on the foreside. The left frontal panel measures, on the inside, 58 cm in height and 32 cm in width, it contains a severely damaged relief depicting a walking, winged erot who is turned towards the middle of the sarcophagus, a staff, probably a torch, is in his hands that are both extended forwards. The panel with the depiction of erot has only been bordered on three sides: the border on the right is missing. It is feasible that because of this defect in craftsmanship the sarcophagus remained unfinished and nobody ever took possession of it. The central panel, measuring on the inside 56 cm in height and having a not fully preserved width of 47 cm, has a leveled surface without a chiseled out inscription. All panels are bordered with the same edge consisting of a lath everted towards the outside, 4 cm high, and a rectangular lath, 3.5 cm high, however, only the panel with the depiction of a festoon has on the left lateral side, up in the middle, a crescent-shaped retraction with an outer diameter measuring 18 cm. The upper edge of the sarcophagus opening has an emphasized lath serving to fasten the lid. The sarcophagus is of the “a cassapanca” Rebecchi III 1 type that is developing in the second half of 2nd century AD, and at the beginning of the 3rd century AD12. H. 82 cm (com.), w. 90 cm (incom.), l. 43 cm (incom.). Discovered at: Pula, prior to 1947. Located at: AMI Pula, in front of the building to the left, inv. no. A 507.

Taf. 25.1. A fragment from the foreside of an unfinished sarcophagus made of limestone,

broken in two parts. The central rectangular panel is partially preserved as well as the left rectangular panel with erot’s left hand in the upper corner. The rectangular panel within the frame is 104 cm wide, its surface is coarsely dressed, unfinished. It is bordered by an everted lath, 5 cm high, and a rectangular lath, 3 cm high. The upper edge of the sarcophagus opening is 15 cm wide and has an emphasized lath to fasten the lid. In the front is a flat lath, 4 cm high, and below it, an everted lath, 2 cm high. Broken off on the left, right and below. The sarcophagus is of the “a cassapanca” Rebecchi III 1 type, having a tripartite division of the front surface, and a pair of erotes holding the central panel, which is developing in the second half of 2nd century AD, and at the beginning of the 3rd century AD13. As distinguished from the unfinished sarcophagus Taf. 24.3, this sarcophagus has more intricately profiled borders, the upper edge having a border of its own that is separated from the border of the inscription panel, as can be observed on fragments of architectonic sarcophagi from the 3rd century AD (Taf. 25.2). That is why we can date it into the later period of sarcophagi with a tripartite frontal division where two erotes uphold the central inscription panel, into the 3rd century AD. H. 56 cm (incom.), w. 153 cm (incom.), t. 12 cm (com.), t. together with profiled elements 15 cm (com.) . Discovered at: Pula, St. Theodore, 2005. Located at: AMI Pula, to the south of the building, inv. no. A 29447.

Taf. 25.2. The front right end from a sarcophagus made of limestone, broken off on the left,

right and below. The central rectangular panel on the foreside is partially preserved as well as the right panel with an erot under an arcade. The central panel is preserved in an

12 Rebecchi 1977, 135; Rebecchi 1978, 243. 13 Rebecchi 1977, 135; Rebecchi 1978, 243.


141

incomplete height of 60 cm and a width of 36 cm, and has a coarsely dressed surface without an inscription. It is bordered with an everted lath, 5 cm high, and a rectangular lath, 4.5 cm high. Located on the right side is a relief with a depiction of a winged erot standing on his left leg, his right leg cast over the left one. With his left hand he is supporting his head that is lowered to the right, his right arm is lowered down along the body, in his hand are a wreath and a staff, probably a torch turned upside down. The Erot has a chubby face with long wavy hair falling on both sides of it, on the crown of his head is a thick plait descending towards the back. His feet are missing, he is situated within a triply profiled arcade propped by consoles, of which the left one is preserved. The upper edge of the sarcophagus opening is 14 cm wide and has an emphasized lath that serves to fasten the lid. In the front it is decorated with a flat lath, 4 cm high, and an everted lath, 4.5 cm high. This sarcophagus of the Gabelmann/Rebecchi II 2 architectonic type belongs to the 3rd century AD14. H. 81 cm (incom.), w. 78 cm (incom.), t. 12 cm (com.). Discovered at: Pula, Carrara Street, to the south of Hercules’ Gate, 1912. Located at: AMI Pula, the northern corridor, 1st floor, inv. no. A 237 (old no. 400). Literature: Gnirs 1912, 267 fig. 213; Gnirs 1915, the lapidarium in the Amphitheatre, p. 48 n. 36.

Taf. 15.3. The unfinished limestone sarcophagus, without inscription. Rectangular empty

inscription field on the foreside, on the left and right side framed by simple flatly carved volutes. Due to characteristic lateral volutes of the inscription panel, sarcophagus belongs to the 3rd century AD15. The lower frontal verge unfinished. The upper verge has rim for the acceptance of lid. Behind roughened, lateral surfaces levelled but not smoothed. H. 82 cm (com.), w. 205 cm (com.), t. 68 cm (com.) Site of discovery unknown, Pula or nearby (1988-2005.). Located at: private house, Monte Serpente, Pula. Inv. no. A 29845.

Literature Cambi N. 1988, Atički sarkofazi na istočnoj obali Jadrana (Split). Cambi N. 1994, Sarkofag Dobroga pastira i njegova grupa (Split). Crnković B. 1997, Geological Structure and Petrographic Composition of Croatia, Histria

Antiqua 3, 11–19. Crnković B. 1991, The Origin of the Dimension Stone of Arena in Pula, Rudarsko-geološko-

naftni zbornik 3, 63–67. Degrassi A. 1928, Notiziario archeologico, Atti e memorie della Società Istriana di

Archeologia e Storia Patria 40, 397–402. Degrassi A. 1962, L’epigrafia latina in Italia nell’ultimo ventennio e i criteri del nuovo

insegnamento, Scritti vari di antichità 1 (Roma) 651–662. Fischer G. 1996, Das römische Pola. Eine archäologische Stadtgeschichte, AbhMünchen NF

110. Gabelmann H. 1973, Die Werkstattgruppen der Oberitalischen Sarkophage (Bonn). Galliazzo V. 1976, Sculture greche e romane del Museo Civico di Vicenza, Collezioni e musei

archeologici del Veneto, Collana diretta da Gustavo Traversari (Treviso). Gnirs A. 1912, Grabungen und antike Denkmale in Pola, ÖJh 15, Beibl. 239–272. Gnirs A. 1915, Pola. Führer durch die antiken Baudenkmäler und Sammlungen (Wien).

14 Rebecchi, 1978, 239. 15 Rebecchi, 1977, Taf. 54-80, 135; Rebecchi, 1978, 243.

Alka Starac

142

Hatt J.J., La tombe gallo-romaine (Paris 1952). Jurkić-Girardi V. 1970, Meduze na reljefima Antičke zbirke Arheološkog muzeja Istre u Puli,

Histria Archaeologica 1/2, 27–52. Jurkić V. 1973, Portreti na nadgrobnim stelama zbirke antičkog odjela Arheološkog muzeja

Istre u Puli, JadrZbor 8, 1970–1972, 359–382. Mansuelli G. A. 1956, Genesi e caratteri della stele funeraria Padana, in: Studi in onore di

Aristide Calderini e Roberto Paribeni III (Milano) 365–384. Mansuelli G. A. 1967, Le stele romane del territorio ravennate e del basso Po (Ravenna). Marušić B. 1980–1981, Contributo alla conoscenza della scultura altomedievale in Istria,

AttiRovigno 11, 55–84. Matijašić R. 1997, I monumenti funerari romani in Istria (appunti bibliografici per una futura

ricerca), Antichità Altoadriatiche 43, 99–115. Mirabella Roberti M. 1938, Notiziario archeologico (1937–1938–1939), Atti e memorie della

Società Istriana di Archeologia e Storia Patria 50, 234–264. Notiziario epigrafico (a cura di Fulvia Mainardis e Claudio Zaccaria), AquilNost 65, 1994,

261–328. Pflug H. 1989, Römische Porträtstelen in Oberitalien. Untersuchungen zur Chronologie,

Typologie und Ikonographie (Mainz). Rebecchi F. 1978, I sarcofagi romani dell’arco adriatico, Antichità Altoadriatiche 13, 201–

258. Rebecchi F. 1977, Sarcofagi cispadani di età imperiale romana. Ricerche sulla decorazione

figurata, sulla produzione e sul loro commercio, RM 84, 107–158. Reichel W. 1892, Beschreibung der Sculpturen im Augustustempel in Pola, Archaeologisch-

epigraphische Mittheilungen aus Österreich-Ungarn 15, 151–169. Reichel W. 1893, Beschreibung der Sculpturen im Augustustempel in Pola, Archaeologisch-

epigraphische Mittheilungen aus Österreich-Ungarn 16, 1–13. Starac A. 1995, Rimske nadgrobne are u Puli i u Istri, Opuscula Archaeologica (Zagreb) 19,

69–95. Starac A. 2000a, Epigrafski i anepigrafski spomenici Pule (nalazi 1996.-1998.), AVes 51,

233–248. Starac A. 2000b, Rimske stele u Histriji, Histria Archaeologica 31, 61–132. Šašel J. & Marušić B. 1984, Štirideset rimskih natpisov iz Istre, AVes 35, 295–313. Zlatunić R. 2006, History and Development of Stone Quarrying Technology and

Stonemasonry, in: A. Starac (Hg.), On the Trail of Stonemasons. Archaeological Discoveries in Porta Stovagnaga Street, Monographs and Catalogues 17 (Pula) 185–210.

TAFEL 24

Alka Starac

1.

3b.

2.

3a.

TAFEL 25

Alka Starac

3.

2.

1a.

1b.

5

Inhaltsverzeichnis VORWORT DER HERAUSGEBER ……………………………………………………. 7

Tagungsprogramm ……………………………………………………………………...... 11

Abkürzungen und Siglen …………………………………………………………………. 13

Ekkehard Weber Die Frage nach international verbindlichen wissenschaftlichen Bezeichnungen von Steinmaterial ……………………………………………………………………….. 15

Christian F. Uhlir & Wolfgang Vetters Vereinfachte Richtlinien zur Gesteinsbestimmung und Namensgebung …………… 17

Harald W. Müller Der Marmor von Gummern und seine Bedeutung für die römischen Provinzen Pannonien, Norikum und Rätien …………………………………………………… 33

Michael Unterwurzacher & Michael Tschurtschenthaler Provenienzanalyse von römerzeitlichen Marmorobjekten aus dem Museum in Lavant / Osttirol ……………………………………………………………………. 37

Christof Flügel Provenienzanalyse römischer Steindenkmäler und Baumaterialien aus Raetien ...... 45

Eva Kuttner AIS – OÖ. Archäologisches Informationssystem für Oberösterreich ……………… 57

Kurt Schaller Internet-basierte Informationssysteme für Archäologie und Archäometrie. Über Anspruch und Aufgabenbereich der interdisziplinären Arbeitsgruppe CHC (Cultural Heritage Computing) an der Universität Salzburg ……………………… 63

Leif Scheuermann Religion an der Grenze. Römische Provinzialreligion am Neckar- und obergermanischen Limes. Ein Zwischenbericht …………………………………… 71

Stefan Traxler Römische Grabdenkmäler an der norischen Donaugrenze. Material- und Typenspektrum ……………………………………………………………………... 77

Christian Hemmers Römische Steindenkmäler als Zeichen der Kulturgeschichte des nordwestlichen Noricum. Eine kulturelle Bestandsaufnahme in Zusammenschau archäologischer, epigraphischer und geologischer Aspekte …………………………………………. 109

Gabrielle Kremer Zur Neuaufnahme der Steindenkmäler von Carnuntum ……………………………. 111

Inhaltsverzeichnis

6

Bernhard Hebert & Ulla Steinklauber Grabhügel und Grabstele in Südostnoricum. Ein Resümee angesichts der neuen Grabungen …………………………………………………………………………. 119

Alexandra Steiner Die Funde aus Stein und Marmor auf dem Magdalensberg – Materialien ………... 123

Kordula Gostenčnik Marmorabfälle und deren Verwertung. Ein Baubefund aus der römischen Straßenstation von Oberdrauburg, Kärnten ……………………………………...... 127

Alka Starac Unfinished funerary monuments at Pula …………………………………………... 137

Peter Scherrer Roms Reichsidee an der Grenze. Die Verherrlichung von Kaiser Nero als Stellvertreter des Iuppiter in der großen Mainzer Iuppitersäule …………………... 143

Erwin Pochmarski Zur Verwendungsdauer von Marmoren im Territorium von Flavia Solva ………… 165

Norbert Heger Eine Randbemerkung zum pannonisch-norischen Rahmenornament ……………… 185

Herbert Graßl Steinbrüche im römischen Noricum. Rechtliche und sozialökonomische Aspekte … 189

Peter Emberger Hic situs est – Zur Funktion von Grabinschriften in der römischen Welt …………. 191

Adressen der Autoren und Teilnehmer an der Tagung …………………………………... 199

TAFELN

Unfinished funerary monuments at Pula

Documents