AV 64, 2013: Janka ISTENIČ

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK 64, 2013

Janka ISTENIČ

Column grave monument from Emona

Abstract

The article examines a gilded bronze portrait statue of a man in a toga, excavated in 1836 in Ljubljana (Roman Emona), and other parts of the monument, found next to it, i.e. a marble base and a marble Corinthian capital. According to the archives, they were discovered in the north-western corner of the construction pit for the Kazina building, i.e. in the area where the northern Emona necropolis began, directly beside the main Roman road. The stylistic features of the statue and the capital suggest it belonged to the first half of the 2nd century.

The iron supports, tenons and lead fillings, which survive on the statue and the capital, clearly suggest that the statue was originally attached to the base, which in turn was attached to the capital atop a column shaft. The latter is mentioned in the excavation report; however, it did not survive.

The Roman portrait statues on column monuments from the Principate that we know of to date are exclusively memorials to emperors and are related to their posthumous worship: they marked the site of their cremation, stood as monuments to their apotheosis and could also be grave monuments; in two cases, they also served as memorials of their victories.

We assume that the statue from Emona, its base and its capital are parts of a thus-far unique example of a grave column monument with a full-figure statue erected for a person outside the imperial family. There were possibly more such monuments, which either did not survive or survived only in part, so the parts have not been recognized as remains of a column monument.

Keywords: Roman period, bronze full-figure statue, togatus, grave monument, column monument (Säulenmonument), Slovenia, Emona

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