UDC: 904:726.829"652"(497.113) https://doi.org/10.2298/STA2070201D 902.2(497.11) Original research article BOJAN ĐURIĆ, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana ROMAN SARCOPHAGUS FROM TITEL¹ e­mail: [email protected]­lj.si Abstract. – The unusual Roman sarcophagus of green volcaniclastic rock that was found in Titel, a small town in Vojvodina (SRB), and is now kept in the Muzeul Național al Banatului, in Timişoara (RO), caused considerable unease among scholars in the past as it could not be convincingly connected with any of the productions in Pannonia and Moesia Superior. Only Silvio Ferri, albeit a long time ago, correctly identified its connection with the sarcophagus production in Sirmium and with the sarcophagus of Asclepiodota in particular, made of Dardagani limestone. Sarcophagi of volcaniclastic rock have only been recorded in the region of Srem and its immediate vicinity, and were all produced in Sirmium. The material most likely arrived there from the south, quarried near the village of Rajići, ca 25 km west of Domavia, in the valley of the River Drina. The structure and decoration of the sarcophagus from Titel reveal it as essentially the type produced by the workshops at Salona using models from Prokonessos. Having said that, its decorative details reveal a more complex picture. The decoration of narrow strips of plant motifs indicates a close relationship between the sarcophagus workshops at Sirmium and the workshops active in the middle and upper valley of the River Drina with its tributaries, with the centre at Skelani (municipium Malvesiatium), which, in turn, had close ties with the Salona production. The use of the Norico­Pannonian volute of Type 6 (after Pochmarski) on the inscription panel frame of the sarcophagus from Titel shows another area of influence – the travertine sarcophagus production of Aquincum – on the appearance of the sarcophagi from Sirmium that freely use these motifs (including Type 7) to form the frames of the inscription and figural panels. Available evidence clearly shows that the sarcophagus from Titel can be attributed to the Sirmium sarcophagus production of the 3rd century, more precisely its second half. Key words. – Titel, sarcophagus, volcaniclastic rock, Salona workshops, Sirmium, Aquincum travertine production ne of the most mysterious sarcophagi discov­ ered in the area of modern­day Pannonia is 1 The text is written with the help of my friend, Velika Dauto­ certainly the one now kept in the Muzeul va Ruševljan, who presented the sarcophagus at the symposium on O 2 Roman sarcophagi in Pannonia and Moesia Superior (Ljubljana, Național al Banatului in Timişoara (RO) (Fig. 1), 10 March 2005); I am sincerely grateful for her contribution. I brought there from Titel, a town in the region of Voj­ would also wish to thank Jasmina Davidović for providing all the vo dina (SRB), together with other monuments. The needed data on the Sirmium sarcophagi. 2 monuments came to the museum as a gift from Baron Inv. no. 6348. I would like to thank Nicoleta Demian and Alexandru Flutur from the Muzeul Național al Banatului for their Anton von Scudier, general of the Imperial and Royal help in the examination and in providing valuable information on Army who was in command of the Banat region be­ the sarcophagus. tween 1871 and 1878 and military commander of the 3 He was field marshal and commander of the 17th Division 3 at Timişoara from 1867 onwards and remained in civil service after city of Timişoara from 1872 on. In connection with the the Banat general command (Banater Militärgrenze) had been dis­ original place of their use, Theodor Mommsen pre­ solved. Mannhard 2005. sumed4 the sarcophagus and other stone monuments 4 CIL III 420, 454. 201 Manuscript received 5th May 2020, accepted 13th October 2020 Bojan ĐURIĆ Roman Sarcophagus from Titel (201–223) Fig. 1. Sarcophagus from Titel (photo M. Erič) Sl. 1. Sarkofag iz Titela (foto: M. Erič) were brought to Titel as building material for the con­ Danube, published in 1933.11 Aleksandrina Cermano­ struction of the medieval fort on the Titel Plateau. Prior vić -Kuzmanović did not, however, include it in the over- to the medieval period, there are numerous hypotheses view of the sarcophagi from Noricum and Pannonia.12 that the Roman fort contra Acumincum may have been In her discussion on the Roman sculpture in the pro­ located in the area of Titel;5 in spite of the absence of vince of Lower Pannonia, Velika Dautova Ruševljan Roman habitation remains in the area, the predomi­ nant opinion among Serbian scholars is that was lo­ cated on this very spot. Although part of the Roman 5 For a summary, see Dimitrijević 1996, 152–154; for the dis- monuments kept in Timişoara and Novi Sad (SRB) cussion on the formulation contra Acinco et Bononia, see Becker may have arrived in Titel from elsewhere,6 the bulk is, et al. 2016, 71–73. 6 nevertheless, believed to have been used here.7 The Primarily the milestones CIL III 6470+10638, 6470+10633. 7 One of the main pieces of evidence is presumably the now latter monuments include two sarcophagi, one undeco ­ lost statue of Valerian, of which only the pedestal survives, kept in rated and still located in Titel,8 and the other in Timişo - the Vojvođanski muzej in Novi Sad (previously in Budapest). For ara. Supporting the hypothesis of the existence of the this find, see Gavrilović S. 1970. For the monuments from Titel, see Dimitrijević 1975, 43–51. castrum contra Acumincum is a marble stela found in a 8 9 Standing in front of the Mileva Ajnštajn secondary school. field in the area of the village of Vilovo, west of Titel. 9 Falkenstein 1998, 338, pl. 75, 2. The latter sarcophagus was first mentioned and 10 Ivánfi 1877, 110–111, pl. 1. 10 illustrated with a drawing in 1877 (Fig. 2). Silvio Ferri 11 Ferri 1933, 246–254, fig. 306–307. included it in his overview of Roman art along the 12 Cermanović-Kuzmanović 1965. 202 СТАРИНАР LXX/2020 Bojan ĐURIĆ Roman Sarcophagus from Titel (201–223) Fig. 2. Sarcophagus from Titel – drawing of the sarcophagus (published in: Ivánfi 1877, pl. 1) Sl. 2. Sarkofag iz Titela – crtež sarkofaga (Ivánfi 1877, pl. 1) only presented it with a photograph.13 It was men­ sarcophagi of Moesia Superior or Pannonia, but with­ tioned by Guntram Koch and Hellmut Sichtermann in out offering exact parallels. their major book on Roman sarcophagi as coming from Tibiscum,14 and Koch briefly mentioned it in a Description later paper.15 In 1996, Sorin Pribac discussed the sar­ The sarcophagus is made of volcaniclastic rock.19 cophagus in a paper specifically dedicated to it.16 Only the chest has survived, without the lid. The chest is The ‘unique sarcophagus’, as Koch describes it,17 missing the lower right of its protruding base and part stands out among the sarcophagi from Pannonia and of the bottom of the chest. At the level of the interior Moesia and its unusual features caused quite some difficulties in the scholarly interpretation. Silvio Ferri saw parallels in style and decoration with the sarcopha­ gus of Asclepiodota from Sirmium,18 in his opinion 13 Dautova Ruševljan 1983, pl. 32, 4. 14 dating to the second half of the 3rd century, and with a Koch, Sichtermann 1982, 333, 342. 15 particular, as yet unstudied, group of Sirmium sarco­ Koch 2015, 371. 16 Pribac 1996. phagi. Sorin Pribac saw the decoration and style as 17 Koch 2015, 371. evidence of a strong Greek and Egyptian influence, 18 Dautova Ruševljan 1983, 17, no. 47; Cermanović-Kuzma- nd dating the sarcophagus to the end of the 2 or begin­ no vić 1964; Ninković 2015, 157–158; Lupa 4355. ning of the 3rd century. Koch tied its decoration to the 19 Pribac identifies it as granite. 203 СТАРИНАР LXX/2020 Bojan ĐURIĆ Roman Sarcophagus from Titel (201–223) bottom of the sarcophagus, there is a roughly horizon­ The rectangular chest20 has a projecting base on tal crack visible on all sides and connected with a ver­ all four sides21 with a plain lower part and a moulded tical crack running across the left side of the inscrip­ upper part in the shape of a decorated cyma reversa. tion panel. The chest is decorated only on the front and two short a b c Fig. 3. Sarcophagus from Titel: a) inscription field with the Norico­Pannonian volute of Type 6; b) dolphin in the left panel of the front side; c) beast on the left short side (photo M. Erič) Sl. 3. Sarkofag iz Titela: a) natpisno polje sa noričko­panonskom volutom tipa 6; b) delfin u levom polju prednje strane; c) životinja na levoj kraćoj strani (foto: M Erič) 204 СТАРИНАР LXX/2020 Bojan ĐURIĆ Roman Sarcophagus from Titel (201–223) b c a d e f Fig. 4. a) pattern of acanthus leaves; b) ivy tendril; c) laurel garland; d) pattern of acanthus leaves on the base; e) pattern of acanthus leaves tied with a cord; f) wave pattern Sl. 4. a) motiv listova akantusa; b) vitica bršljana; c) girlanda od lovora; d) motiv listova akantusa na bazi; e) motiv vrpcom povezanih listova akantusa; f) motiv talasa sides, the back is roughly carved. The front is tripar­ of a lion ending in a hairy tuft, a neat mane, as well as tite, with narrower figural side panels that have semi­ a bird head with pointed ears and a large hooked beak. circular upper terminals, and a wider inscription panel They are shown in motion, partly on the bottom edge in the centre. The short sides have a single figural of the panel and partly in the empty space of the pan­ panel with a moulded frame on all four sides, the el.