Slab for sealing a loculus, with figurative motifs

Photogallery

Slab for sealing a loculus, with figurative motifs
Slab for sealing a loculus, with figurative motifs
Section XV. Christian inscriptions in Greek

At the centre of a tripartite space, a “tabula with handles” (tabula ansata) bears the epitaph of Λεκουνιανός (Lekounianós) – possibly a corrected form of Λεκουνιλνός (Lekounilnós) on the stone – dedicated by Λεκουνῖνος (Lekounìnos) (on the stone: Λσκουνῖνος = Lskounìnos), perhaps his son. It is difficult to say whether the names (of uncertain interpretation) are derived from the Greek λύκος “wolf”. On the sides emphasis is given, in terms of position and size, to a palm tree on the left and an animal on the right; this latter has been almost entirely lost, but may have been a lamb or an ass. It would therefore appear to be a combination of a palm and a lamb, generally alluding to a heavenly environment or martyrdom, or a combination of a palm and an ass, again evocative of paradise or, less likely, the scene of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, which is also seen, for example, in a late fourth-century sarcophagus conserved in the Museums. The dove and vase engraved after the portrait of the deceased in the tabula allude to blessed life. The circle at the bottom is perhaps an incomplete figurative image.