BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Life-size Statues from Pompeii’s Necropolis

Couple memorialized in beautiful detail

The life-sized funerary monument found at Pompeii. Courtesy Pompeii Archaeological Park.

While carrying out excavations in the Porta Sarno necropolis of ancient Pompeii, archaeologists discovered the ruins of a first-century BCE tomb, partially destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Depicted in high relief on top of the tomb were two life-size statues of a young married couple, presumably the tomb’s owners.

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Commemorating the Dead at Pompeii

The tomb at Porta Sarno is one of more than 50 cremation burials discovered in the necropolis that served the ancient city. Consisting of four separate niches for cremation burials, the tomb was partly destroyed in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, when earthquakes caused part of the structure to collapse. The two stone reliefs were damaged during the collapse, causing the head of the relief of the woman to break off.

A cluster of laurel leaves marking the woman as a priestess. Courtesy Pompeii Archaeological Park.

The reliefs, positioned over two of the niches that likely housed the couple’s remains, were both elegantly carved out of separate stone slabs framed in carved stone, presumably by a master sculptor. Likely true to life, the relief of the man stands 5 feet 7 inches tall, while the wife stands slightly taller at 5 feet 8 inches. The height, however, was not the only lifelike detail, as the man wears a toga, signifying his position as a Roman citizen, while the woman is adorned with rings, bracelets, and earrings. Most remarkable is the cluster of laurel leaves the woman holds in her hand, known as an aspergillum. The aspergillum was a ceremonial instrument used by priestesses to disperse incense inside sacred spaces.

Based on the aspergillum and other details, archaeologists identified the woman as a priestess of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and motherhood. Priestesses held a prestigious position in Roman society, possibly the highest to which a Roman woman could aspire. It had previously been unknown how important the cult of Ceres was in Pompeii itself. Based on the impressive tomb sculpture, however, it is clear that the cult was an official part of Pompeii’s religious practices.

In front of the tomb, excavators found numerous ceramic and glass vessels for ointments, a mirror, and a coin. Although all of these items had a place in funerary rituals, the many ointment vessels demonstrate that there had been frequent visits to the tomb for the pouring of libations to the dead. While Pompeii has provided many incredible archaeological discoveries over the years, these funerary reliefs are remarkably rare and provide new insight into the religious and funerary life of the city a century before its destruction.

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