Roman Imagery: Asmara Tombstones (about 400 AD)


Figure 1.--This Roman tombstone was found at in the Turkish town of Amasra, a town in Western Turkey along the Black Sea coast. It dates to about 400 AD. It shows a Roman family, the parents and two children. Image courtesy of the Fergusson Image Collection.

This tombstone has been dated at about 400 AD. We are not sure when Romand began using tombstones. This would be a time when the eastern Empire was still strong, but the Western Empire was nearing collapse. This headstone was discovered in the Turkish town of Amasra. This is in the Western Black Sea Region. It is a seaside town by the Black Sea. The headstone is on public display in the town's museum. The people depicted on the headstone include a man and a women and two children. I believe that this headstone is about a family. The adults would thus be the mother and father with their two children. I thus believe they are brother and sister. What we do not understand is why the whole family is depicted on these and other Roman tombstones. While the images are not detailed, they do provide actual contemprary images of clothing.

Chronology

This tombstone has been dated at about 400 AD. We are not sure when Romand began using tombstones. This would be a time when the eastern Empire was still strong, but the Western Empire was nearing collapse. Also it was a time when Christianity had been adopted as the state religion. Presumably this family would have been Christians.

Location

This headstone was discovered in the Turkish town of Amasra. This is in the Western Black Sea Region. It is a seaside town by the Black Sea. The headstone is on public display in the town's museum.

Family

The people depicted on the headstone include a man and a women and two children. I believe that this headstone is about a family. The adults would thus be the mother and father with their two children. There seems to be a table and they are holding cups. I think it is meal time. The child on the left looks like a female and the hairstyle is similar to that worn by women and the child is wearing a long dress. The child on the right appears to be a boy because the child is shown with a short hair style. His clothes only cover his upper legs, another indication that this depiction is a boy. I thus believe they are brother and sister. What we do not understand is why the whole family is depicted on these and other Roman tombstones.

Clothing Depicted

Roman children wore a garment called a 'Toga Praerexta.' This was white material on which there was braid on the neck and cuff. Children wore this type of Toga until they were about 17. The boy here seems to be wearing this garment. The girl seems to be weaing a longer garment, more like that of an adult woman. They are thus almost asuredly Roman citizens. On the headstone the children are not shown wearing any head gear and in general, indoors or out, boys and girls in historical illustrations seem not to be depicted wearing hoods and caps. The children look to be barefoot. One interesting observation is that the fashions here show that Roman clothes appear to have changd remakably little over the centuries.

Hair Styles Depicted

Children's hair is often depicted at as short for boys and much longer for girls. On the Amasra headstone the girl's hair is long and pleated. The boy's is much shorter.

William Fegusson









HBC






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Created: August 15, 2003
Last updated: August 15, 2003