A fragment from a Roman tombstone

Style period: antiquity

Century: 1 A.D.


A Roman tombstone (stella) built in as a spolium on a hexagonal tower in the walls of Krk, located near the Small Gate on the quay. The stella is located 5.5 m above the ground, it is 80 cm high and 75 cm wide. It is made of soft porous limestone. It consists of an edicule with the heads of the deceased, a man and a woman, carved in stone. This central rectangular area is framed with two vertical Corinthian pilasters. This is followed by an elongated rectangular frieze, with subsequently written information about the construction of the tower from the beginning of the 15th century. Above the inscription, there is a gable with a coat of arms in the middle. It is supposed to have been carved in later, on top of a shallow relief situated in that area. It should be pointed out that the faces of the deceased are poorly preserved, especially the female one. Based on a comparative stylistic analysis, especially the portrait physiognomy, the experts dated this tombstone into the 1st century A.D., more precisely around year 40.
This type of a Roman stella belongs to the architectural group of tombstones characterized by the following basic elements: the gable, the edicule with the portraits and the inscription.
Although this is a spolium built into a newer edifice, this stella is a beautiful example of Roman sepulchral art in this area. It represents an example of a tombstone which developed in the area of the upper part of Italy, and spread very quickly to the eastern Adriatic coast.

Bibliography:

  • Bolonić, Mihovil, Žic-Rokov, Ivan, Otok Krk kroz vjekove, Kršćanska sadašnjost, Zagreb, 1977.
  • Kolega, Marija, Dvije rimske stele arhitektonskog tipa s otoka Krka, Arheološka istraživanja na otocima Krku, Rabu i Pagu i u Hrvatskom primorju, Hrvatsko arheološko društvo, Vol 13, Zagreb, 1989.
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