SPAH 7
Cover image: Loculus relief of Šalmat, AD 230–250. Ny Carslberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, inv. no. IN 1054 (© Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek/ Photo: Palmyra Portrait Project).
SPAH 7
Carvers and Customers in Roman Palmyra
Palmyra, located in the Syrian desert, is famous for the portraiture of its citizens, produced when the ancient city was at the height of its powers in the Roman era. At this time, several hundred funerary monuments were built and the Palmyrenes decorated their tombs with numerous portraits. The most common of these are the loculus reliefs that depicted Palmyra’s men, women, and children, and were used to close off the niches in tombs behind which the dead were buried. Between AD 50 and AD 273, these stone slabs were produced in sufficient numbers to make Palmyra home to the largest corpus of funerary portraits outside Rome itself. This volume offers a fresh and nuanced analysis of Palmyrene funerary reliefs and their production in order to shed light not just on the people they depicted, but on the individuals responsible for their creation. Across a range of different case studies, the author explores the making of single portraits from the local limestone, examining how Palmyrene carvers worked, the techniques they used, the tools they employed, the ways in which style and technique changed over time, and the mode of production that was in place. Furthermore, the workshops’ organization, the interaction between carvers and customers, and their influence on the portraits are explored. In doing so, the volume offers not just a detailed study of limestone carving and the techniques that underpinned Palmyra’s famous portraits, but also offers a significant contribution to wider research on funerary portraiture of the city and in Roman Syria.
Carvers and Customers in Roman Palmyra The Production Economy of Limestone Loculus Reliefs
STUDIES IN PALMYRENE ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Steding
The oasis city of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert, a major centre of trade, politics, and religious practice in the ancient world, is today a world-wide renowned site. Although Palmyra was the focus of historical study and discussion from as early as the twelfth century, knowledge of the city’s existence was then ‘lost’ to the western world, before it was rediscovered by Europeans in the seventeenth century. Since this time, scholarly interest in the city has continued to develop, and many aspects of the city’s archaeology and history have been addressed. This series provides a unique publication forum intended to draw together various international research traditions focussing on Palmyra and its surrounding region, and to make them available in one place for the first time. The series welcomes both monographs and edited collections addressing a variety of subjects connected with Palmyra, including archaeology, history, and historiographic and cultural heritage publications, as well as museum and collection studies.
By Julia Steding
STUDIES IN PALMYRENE
SPAH 7
ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Studies in Palmyrene Archaeology and History Founding Editor Professor Rubina Raja, Centre for Urban Network Evolutions, Aarhus University, Denmark
Advisory Board Professor Nathanael Andrade, Binghamton University, New York, USA Professor Maura K. Heyn, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA Dr Emanuele Intagliata, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy Professor Ted Kaizer, Durham University, UK Professor Eivind Heldaas Seland, University of Bergen, Norway Dr Jean-Baptiste Yon, Institut français du Proche-Orient, Beirut, Lebanon
VOLUME 7 Previously published volumes in this series are listed at the back of the book.
Carvers and Customers in Roman Palmyra The Production Economy of Limestone Loculus Reliefs Julia Steding
Contents
List of Illustrations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Chapter 1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 2. The Palmyrene Graves and the Placement of the Reliefs.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Chapter 3. The Toolset of the Palmyrene Carvers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Chapter 4. The Chronological Development of the Toolset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Chapter 5. Palmyra’s Economy: Producing Loculus Reliefs.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Chapter 6. Palmyrene Customers: Ordering and Buying a Loculus Relief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Chapter 7. The Palmyrene Workshops and Craftspeople. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Chapter 8. Regional and Transregional Comparisons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Chapter 9. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Catalogue of Studied Loculus Reliefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Appendix I. Size of Loculus Reliefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 Appendix II. Tool Traces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 Appendix III. Additional Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Chapter 1
Introduction
Figure 1.1. Palmyra, located in the Syrian desert (Earthstar Geographics; ESRI, USGS).
F
or centuries, archaeologists have been interested in Palmyra, a city in the Syrian desert midway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates (Fig. 1.1). While the oldest traces of a permanent settlement can be dated to the Hellenistic period, the true era of prosperity started when the province of Syria was established under the Roman occupation in the first century bc. Palmyra remained independent from the Roman Empire, but the city’s influence can nonetheless be seen, for example in the way inhabitants adopted certain Western traditions. In the course of this process, a large number of portraits for the funerary sphere were produced from the mid-first century ad and onwards. The Palmyrenes represented themselves in the form of busts on loculus reliefs, busts and full figures on larger banqueting reliefs, as well as sarcophagi boxes and lids.
While the iconography has been previously studied in a variety of contexts, this book aims to understand the production process of limestone loculus reliefs, all made between ad 50 and ad 273. With 1900 portraits out of nearly four thousand known portraits in total, the loculus reliefs form the largest group of funerary portraiture in Palmyra.1 The large number of portraits, all produced 1 This book is based on my doctoral thesis that was written within the framework of the Palmyra Portrait Project, headed by Prof. Rubina Raja at Aarhus University and funded by the Carlsberg Foundation. The main aim of the project is the collection of all known portraits from the city in a database and the publication of the complete corpus. For a general introduction to the database and the project, see <http://projects.au.dk/palmyraportrait/> [accessed 11 June 2020]; Kropp and Raja 2014a; 2014b; 2016. The studies conducted for this book were only possible through the access to the database that contains all known Palmyrene portraits.
Chapter 1
6
Figure 1.2. Loculus relief depicting a female, dressed in tunic and himation, holding spindle and distaff, ad 150–170. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, inv. no IN 1061 (© Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; photo: Palmyra Portrait Project).
Figure 1.3. Loculus relief depicting a male, dressed in tunic and himation, ad 181, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 02.29.4, purchase, 1902 (© Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).
Figure 1.4. Loculus relief depicting a priest in a Parthian-style chlamys, ad 130–150. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, inv. no IN 1031 (© Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; photo: Palmyra Portrait Project).
bust, including the arms and part of the lower torso.51 The plaques are usually rectangular52 and the bust (or busts) are placed in the centre of the plaque. Children are depicted behind the shoulders of men and women or on the arm of a woman. The depicted persons either look straight ahead or to one side or slightly down. The torsos, however, are depicted frontally. Female figures are depicted with a tunic and himation in most cases (Fig. 1.2). Often, a brooch fastens the himation on the left shoulder. The head is covered with a decorated or undecorated headband, a turban, and a veil. There are a few exceptions in which a woman is depicted without a headband or with a hairnet instead of a headband and turban. Only a few portraits show women with their hair uncovered and styled in a ‘Faustina hairstyle’.53 The women wear jewellery: earrings, necklaces, brace-
lets, and rings on their fingers. Their other attributes are often spindle and distaff or, much rarer, keys.54 Men are mainly depicted in a tunic and himation that is folded so that it creates a sling for one arm (Fig. 1.3). Sometimes, they wear a chlamys fastened with a brooch on the shoulder instead of a himation. A small group of men wear clothes with decorations, referred to as ‘Parthian-style’. The hair is most often short, and men can be shown with or without a beard.55 Common attributes are book-rolls, writing instruments, drinking vessels, leaves, and weapons (daggers, knives, or swords).56 Men never wear jewellery, except for rings on their fingers. Priests form a subgroup of the depicted males (Fig. 1.4). Their role is indicated by a Palmyrene priestly hat. This can either be worn, in which case no hair is visible, or placed, usually on a pedestal, next to the male figure.57
Ingholt 1928, 15; Colledge 1976b, 67–72; Raja 2015, 335. The best overview is still given in Colledge 1976b. For different publications on parts of the corpus see ns 10, 52–54, 55–56. 52 An elaborate discussion of the size and shape of the loculus reliefs follows in Chapter 2. 53 For examples in the corpus, see cat. nos 46, 55, 62, 89. This term is also the accepted one in Palmyrene studies, and only bears some resemblance to the actual hairstyle worn by Faustina. For a discussion of the term, the context, and meaning of the hairstyle, and a full catalogue of the women depicted with it, see Krag and Raja 2018.
54 For a complete overview of the female depictions on loculus reliefs, see Krag 2018. For further depiction of women, see Chehadé 1987; Heyn 2012; 2015; Krag 2016; 2017a; 2017b; 2017c; 2017d; Krag and Raja 2016. For keys, see Randeris Thomsen 2021. 55 For the latest overviews of reliefs depicting males, see e.g. Ingholt 1928; Colledge 1976b; Sadurska and Bounni 1994; Ploug 1995. For ‘Parthian’ costume, see Long 2017. 56 Only little has been published on male attributes. For writing attributes, see Sokołowski 2014; Heyn and Raja 2019. 57 For the depiction of priests, see Raja 2016; 2017a; 2017b;
51
The Palmyrene Graves and the Placement of the Reliefs
13
Figure 2.1. Palmyrene tower tombs in the west necro polis/Valley of the Tombs (photo: Rubina Raja).
Figure 2.2. Elevation of tower tomb no. 71 as well as a schematic view, a section, and ground plan of a tower tomb (© courtesy of Agnes Henning).
can be dated to ad 232.16 They were thus the grave type that ran parallel to the tower and temple tombs. It is not totally clear why some Palmyrenes chose tower or temple tombs over hypogea and vice versa.17 Furthermore, these different types were not confined to one specific necrop olis, as all types can be found in all of them. However, the majority of tower tombs can be found in the Valley of the Tombs, while most hypogea were discovered in the south-west necropolis. This could be connected to the geology of the place; not all locations allowed the carving of the cavity for a hypogeum.18
All graves included burials in form of loculi, a wallspace for the dead body,19 that were either integrated into the architecture of the tower and temple tomb or, in the case of the hypogea, dug directly into the rock. These loculi were closed off with the reliefs described above. The following discussion of different grave types has the aim of giving a brief overview of the architecture of the tombs and of the exact placement of the loculus reliefs in the graves. The aim is to see how these factors might have influenced the formal requirements, which could help explain variations in size and shape.
16 al-As’ad and Schmidt-Colinet 2005, 42; Smith 2013, 29–30. For a pre-Roman hypogeum from the second century bc, see Fellmann 1970; Henning 2013, 15. 17 al-As’ad and Schmidt-Colinet 2005, 39. 18 Henning 2013, 12.
In a few cases, multiple bodies were buried in the same loculus; see e.g. Nakhashi 1994, 107; Krag 2019, 40. 19
116
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1. Family tree of Aḥîtôr (© cat. nos 1, 4, 43, 49, 52: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; © cat. nos 73, 415, 423, 549: Rubina Raja and Palmyra Portrait Project, courtesy of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek). Figure by the author.
a book-roll). The dorsalia are individualized. The overall style, as well as the facial features, are thus similar, while other parts of the relief are adjusted according to personal choices. Another example is the family of Aḥîtôr. Their family tree could be reconstructed over four (or even five) generations, through the inscriptions on nine loculus reliefs. (Fig. 6.1).15 I would like to thank Jesper V. Jensen, who, in the framework of the Palmyra Portrait Project, reconstructed the family connections on the basis of the inscriptions published in CIS (nos 4279–87) and later by Piersimoni (1995, 630). R. Raja kindly gave me access to the results. The family tree shows all known portraits as well as family members only known by inscription. The only person that could not be located on the family tree for certain is Bôrrofâ. He could either 15
Strong similarities can be detected amongst the family members, making it likely that the family purchased the reliefs from the same workshop. When one compares Malkû and ʿAtenatan (from the family of Borta)16 it becomes clear that the portraits of uncle and nephew were produced in the same workshop, and most likely by the same carver (Figs 6.2–6.3). The large eyes and long eyebrows are rendered in exactly the same way. Both males have a groove running over their cheek, highlighting the jawline and the cheekbone. Also, the folds in the clothes are alike; the rim of the himation is wavy and the be son of Bolhâ, son of Aḥîtôr or son of Bolhâ, son of ʿAtenatan and Šalmat. 16 Cat. nos 4, 549.
Palmyrene Customers: Ordering and Buying a Loculus Relief
117
Figure 6.2. Loculus relief depicting ʿAtenatan, ad 133–134, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, inv. no IN 1049 (© Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; photo: Palmyra Portrait Project).
folds of himation and tunic follow the same pattern. In both portraits the chest musculature is rendered in the form of incised lines. The same sorts of features can be detected in the bust of ʿAtenatan (from the family of Bolhâ), Malkû’s cousin, who is depicted alongside his wife on a double loculus relief.17 He is depicted with the same rendered eyes, eyebrows, clothes, and even the grooves on his cheeks. The only difference is a stronger wrinkle across his forehead. Apart from that the portraits are similar enough for the viewer to state that they were made by the same carver.18 Cat. no. 49. What differs are the attributes they hold; Malkû is shown with a branch, ʿ Atenatan and Bôlḥ â with a book-roll. This is a 17
18
Figure 6.3. Loculus relief depicting Malkû, ad 100–150, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, inv. no. SCOO5336. Ingholt Archives, PS 108 (© Rubina Raja and Palmyra Portrait Project, courtesy of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek).
Chapter 2
16
Figure 2.6. Ground plan of temple tomb no. 36 (Schmidt-Colinet 1992, 26, fig. 6b).
not be discussed, as my remarks focus on the interior. Even though no loculus reliefs have been found in situ, the construction of the grave allows us to reconstruct the placement of the reliefs. The loculus shelves were built into every wall of the building on the ground floor (Fig. 2.6). They faced the corridor that ran around the square peristyle courtyard in the centre of the building. Only the shelves on the north and south end of the east corridor, and the shelf on the north end of the west corridor, were placed in a niche and therefore not directly visible from the corridor.34 In total, twenty-nine loculus shelves can be reconstructed.35 The width of most of the niches is 46–47 cm. Only one shelf on the north wall measures 54.5 cm, so it was wider than the others. The central loculus on the north wall measures 1.86 cm, but this can be described as a niche or even as an exedra. All of the walls of the loculi are built on a continuous podium that is only interrupted by the staircase in the Only few human remains were found and most of the sculptural material can be categorized as parts of sarcophagi, banquet reliefs, and sculptures in the round. 34 Schmidt-Colinet 1992, 18, fig. 6c. 35 Ground floor north wall: thirteen (incl. one larger opening); east wall: six; south wall: four; west wall: six.
south-west corner.36 Each shelf consisted of three levels on top of each other, separated by intermediate floors made out of limestone or clay slabs. There was therefore room for eighty-seven burials on the ground floor.37 Two more burials can be found on top of the ones on the ground floor, but they were only reachable from the base area.38 The upper floor is not preserved, but SchmidtColinet’s hypothetical reconstruction postulates another one hundred and twenty-nine loculus shelves in this part of the temple tomb. However, the missing rabbets on the half-columns suggest that most parts of the upper floor were never occupied.39 What still can be envisioned is that the arrangement of the loculi followed that of the ground level, even though some of the smaller loculi shafts were replaced by larger niches that would accommodate one or multiple sarcophagi.40 The measurements of the loculi show that there were two groups of loculi shelves. The smaller loculi measure c. 46 cm and c. 54.5 cm in width. Furthermore, there was a larger opening in the centre of the main wall that could accommodate a sarcophagus constellation. Even though the smaller loculi only diverge by a few centimetres, there seem to have been these two standard sizes for single loculi.41 Even though there are no loculus reliefs documented in situ, this grave gives the opportunity to imagine how the portrait busts of the loculus reliefs must have functioned within the space. Together with the larger depictions of families in the form of banquet scenes, these reliefs decorated the walls of the temple tomb. Even though it is unknown whether all available spots were occupied by relief busts or banquet scenes, it may be assumed that the Palmyrenes made use of the space as much as possible and as was mentioned above with reference to the tower tombs, it would follow that the walls of the temple tombs were decorated with portraits stacked on top of each other and next to each other, creating entire galleries of portraits. Schmidt-Colinet 1992, 18. Schmidt-Colinet 1992, 13, 18. 38 Schmidt-Colinet 1992, 19. 39 Schmidt-Colinet 1992, 20. 40 Schmidt-Colinet 1992, figs 6b and 6c, plans 8 and 10; upper floor north wall: nine (including three larger openings); east wall: five (including one larger opening); south wall: five; west wall: five (including one larger opening). 41 It is unknown if the loculi in other temple tombs were larger or smaller. 36 37
Catalogue of Studied Loculus Reliefs
Cat. no. 85 (BM039)
185
Cat. no. 89 (MV002)
Loculus relief depicting a priest
Loculus relief depicting a female
Current location: The British Museum, London Inv. No.: BM 125201 Date: ad 150–170 References: Ingholt Archives, PS 251; Wright 1885, 29–30, cat. no. 2; Ingholt 1928, 119, PS 251; 1935, 69 n. 55; Colledge 1976b, 250; Heyn 2010, 653–54, app. 5, cat. no. 5; Heyn 2017, 210, fig. 6; Fowlkes-Childs and Seymour 2019, 162–63, cat. no. 108.
Current location: Musei Vaticani, Rome Inv. No.: VII 68/MV 56598 Date: ad 150–200 References: Parlasca 1987b, 110, no. 15; Cappozzo 2017b, 99–100, cat. no. 5; Krag 2018, cat. no. 502; Krag, Raja, and Yon 2019, 23, 31–32, 40–45, cat. no. 2, fig. 2.
Cat. no. 86 (BM040)
Cat. no. 90 (MV003)
Loculus relief depicting a female
Current location: The British Museum, London Inv. No.: BM 125040 Date: ad 50–150 References: Ingholt Archives, PS 81; Ingholt 1928, 99; Colledge 1976b, 247; Long 2016, 141, fig. 3.
Current location: Musei Vaticani, Rome Inv. No.: VII 65/MV 56602 Date: ad 200–273 References: Ingholt Archives, PS 769; Vattioni 1986, 247, cat. no. 4, fig. 69.2; Nigro 2002, 40, cat. no. 36; Parlasca 2005b, 141 n. 28; Krag 2018, cat. no. 644; Krag, Raja, and Yon 2019, 23, 31, 33, 46–53, cat. no. 3.
Cat. no. 87 (BM042)
Cat. no. 91 (MV006)
Loculus relief depicting a male
Loculus relief depicting a female
Loculus relief depicting a male
Current location: The British Museum, London Inv. No.: BM 125695 Date: ad 113–114 (dated by inscription) References: Ingholt Archives, PS 31; Wright 1885, 30, no. 3; Ingholt 1928, 55–57, PS 31, pl. x.2; el-Chehadé 1972, 76, 96 n. 5; Colledge 1976b, 62, 70, 256, pl. 63; Taylor 2001, 211; Heyn 2010, 640, app. 1, cat. no. 2; Raja 2015, 352–53, fig. 24; 2017c, 338; Davies 2017, 21, fig. 2; Krag 2018, cat. no. 89.
Current location: Musei Vaticani, Rome Inv. No.: VII 63/MV 56596 Date: ad 170–200 References: Ingholt Archives, PS 602; Krag, Raja, and Yon 2019, 23, 29, 64–67, cat. no. 6; Raja 2019e, 70, 91, cat. no. 53.
Cat. no. 88 (BM038)
Loculus relief depicting a female Current location: Victoria and Albert Museum, London (on a long-term loan from the British Museum) Inv. No.: BM 102612 Date: ad 150–200 References: Ingholt Archives, PS 412; Ingholt 1928, 137, PS 412; al-Hassani and Starcky 1957, 98; Barnett and Wiseman 1960, 72–73, cat. no. 34; 1969, 71, cat. no. 33; Colledge 1976b, 259; Sadurska 1977, 89; Browning 1979, 38, fig. 11; Butcher 2003, 270, fig. 118; Sartre 2005, 284; Winsbury 2010, 50; Long 2016, 136, fig. 1; Krag 2018, cat. no. 252.
Cat. no. 92 (MV007)
Loculus relief depicting a male Current location: Musei Vaticani, Rome Inv. No.: VII 66/MV 56604 Date: ad 200–273 References: Ingholt Archives, PS 628; Krag, Raja, and Yon 2019, 23, 29–30, 68–75, cat. no. 7; Raja 2019e, 69, 121, cat. no. 159, fig. 6.76.
Cat. no. 93 (MV008)
Loculus relief depicting a male Current location: Musei Vaticani, Rome Inv. No.: VII 69/5MV 6603 Date: ad 220–240 References: Vattioni 1986, cat. no. 5; Krag, Raja, and Yon 2019, 23, 29, 76–83, cat. no. 8, fig. 2; Raja 2019e, 69, 119, cat. no. 156.
SPAH 7
Cover image: Loculus relief of Šalmat, AD 230–250. Ny Carslberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, inv. no. IN 1054 (© Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek/ Photo: Palmyra Portrait Project).
SPAH 7
Carvers and Customers in Roman Palmyra
Palmyra, located in the Syrian desert, is famous for the portraiture of its citizens, produced when the ancient city was at the height of its powers in the Roman era. At this time, several hundred funerary monuments were built and the Palmyrenes decorated their tombs with numerous portraits. The most common of these are the loculus reliefs that depicted Palmyra’s men, women, and children, and were used to close off the niches in tombs behind which the dead were buried. Between AD 50 and AD 273, these stone slabs were produced in sufficient numbers to make Palmyra home to the largest corpus of funerary portraits outside Rome itself. This volume offers a fresh and nuanced analysis of Palmyrene funerary reliefs and their production in order to shed light not just on the people they depicted, but on the individuals responsible for their creation. Across a range of different case studies, the author explores the making of single portraits from the local limestone, examining how Palmyrene carvers worked, the techniques they used, the tools they employed, the ways in which style and technique changed over time, and the mode of production that was in place. Furthermore, the workshops’ organization, the interaction between carvers and customers, and their influence on the portraits are explored. In doing so, the volume offers not just a detailed study of limestone carving and the techniques that underpinned Palmyra’s famous portraits, but also offers a significant contribution to wider research on funerary portraiture of the city and in Roman Syria.
Carvers and Customers in Roman Palmyra The Production Economy of Limestone Loculus Reliefs
STUDIES IN PALMYRENE ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Steding
The oasis city of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert, a major centre of trade, politics, and religious practice in the ancient world, is today a world-wide renowned site. Although Palmyra was the focus of historical study and discussion from as early as the twelfth century, knowledge of the city’s existence was then ‘lost’ to the western world, before it was rediscovered by Europeans in the seventeenth century. Since this time, scholarly interest in the city has continued to develop, and many aspects of the city’s archaeology and history have been addressed. This series provides a unique publication forum intended to draw together various international research traditions focussing on Palmyra and its surrounding region, and to make them available in one place for the first time. The series welcomes both monographs and edited collections addressing a variety of subjects connected with Palmyra, including archaeology, history, and historiographic and cultural heritage publications, as well as museum and collection studies.
By Julia Steding
STUDIES IN PALMYRENE
SPAH 7
ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY