Touching embrace, sculpted in relief on a plundered and shattered Roman stone sarcophagus in the Necropolis of Manastirine, outside the walls of the Greek and Roman city of Salona, at Solin near Split, Dalmatia, Croatia.
Salona, Solin, Dalmatia, Croatia: united in eternity ... square close detail of touching embrace, sculpted in relief on one of the numerous shattered Greek or Roman stone sarcophagi scattered around the Necropolis of Manastirine, outside the walls of the city of Salona, once capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Many of the sarcophagi or tomb chests lying in the Salona cemeteries are in fragments because they were plundered after the city fell to Slav and Avar forces in 614 AD. Symbols drawn from Greek and Roman mythology are mixed with more recent early Christian emblems, commemorating martyrs executed by the Roman Emperor Diocletian as well as later Christians who wished to be buried near their graves. Salona, a former Adriatic port, was founded by Illyrians in the 3rd century BC and was later a Greek city. It became a Roman colony in about 40 BC and was made the Dalmatian provincial capital during the reign of Augustus Caesar. Its cosmopolitan citizens, safe behind strong walls and towers, enjoyed the use of public baths, an aqueduct, a forum, a theatre and an 18,000-capacity amphitheatre. The Roman Empire began to collapse in the 5th century and Salona fell to the Ostrogoths in 493 AD. Although it was later returned to Rome, its citizens fled in 614, leaving their city in ruins. The excavated site is now an archaeological park.
Size: 2821px × 2821px
Location: Salona, Solin, Dalmatia, Croatia.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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