EXTRAORDINARY FUNERARY RELIEF SCULPTURES DISCOVERED IN SUPERB CONDITION IN POMPEII
Another amazing find was made at Pompeii on April 2, 2025: a funerary relief that showed two nearly life-size figures of a man and a woman. The relief was found in a necropolis close to Porta Sarno, where stelae and a massive funerary arch nearby attest to the discovery of more than 50 cremation burials.
Since there is no accompanying inscription and research is still ongoing, it is not yet possible to draw firm conclusions, but archaeologists think the relief might memorialize a married couple. The director of Pompeii Archaeological Park, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, however warns that although these burial sculptures may initially appear to depict couples, they are not necessarily.
Zuchtriegel told The Guardian, "You get two males sometimes, and sometimes they come in threes." This might be her son, but it might also be her spouse. We are unsure because there was no inscription. The figure is notable for having sculpted accessories that, according to a statement, would suggest that she was a priestess of Ceres, an old Roman deity connected to fertility and agriculture. The woman is covered in a veil, a big cloak, and a tunic. She wears a necklace with a crescent-moon-shaped lunula pendant, bracelets, a wedding band, and amphora-shaped earrings. The male wears a modest toga draped over his left shoulder.
In a report describing the relief discovery, the researchers state that "the lunula was one of the amulets used to fend off bad energies, and was worn by women from infancy until marriage." “The symbol of the crescent moon also had an atavistic and primordial meaning, linked to the fertility of the earth, abundance, and rebirth.”
A laurel leaf twig, which was frequently used to bless and purify holy settings by spreading the smoke of incense or other aromatic herbs burned during religious rites, is held in the woman's right hand. She is holding what seems like a papyrus roll in her left hand.
Zuchtriegel continues, "She truly appears to be a highly significant woman among the local elite." In Roman society, serving as a priestess represented a significant shift from a woman's customary confinement to the home and motherhood. The report goes on to say that "priestesses had a significant role in the public realm." "They held a position of authority that was quite comparable to that of male priests and considerably different from that of ordinary women."
The recently found relief provides crucial information about Pompeii's religious institutions and the methods in which women were involved in them by its possible embellishment of a priestess. It is unique in its antiquity as well; the sculpture's carving quality and antiquated features indicate that it was created during Rome's Republican era, which is uncommon in southern Italy. The relief will be on display at Pompeii Archaeological Park's Being a Woman in Ancient Pompeii exhibition starting on April 16. Go to the Pompeii Archaeological Park website to find out more about this remarkable find.
