Poignant embrace between a winged child and a headless woman amongst early Roman Empire family tombs at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Aquileia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. It portrays a deceased woman, now headless, being comforted by a young girl with wings who is possibly Psyche, goddess of the soul in Ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Digital art from original photograph.
Aquileia, Udine province, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy: family monument in the early Roman Empire necropolis or burial ground (Sepolcreto) which lay outside the walls of the Ancient Roman metropolis of Aquileia. According to Roman law, it was forbidden to bury or cremate bodies within the town area. For this reason, burial areas were situated alongside roads outside Roman cities and towns. The cemeteries consisted of a series of private areas where various monuments were placed in memory of the dead. The necropolis of the Roman City of Aquileia is composed of five funerary enclosures or enclosed burial plots, belonging to five Aquileian families. Each plot is separated from other plots by a wall. Inside the burial areas were altars surrounded by urns containing the ashes of the dead and other small monuments. These monuments and tombs underneath indicate that the plots were used from the 1st - 3rd centuries AD. Aquileia is an Ancient Roman city at the head of the Adriatic on the Natissa (Natiso) River. It was founded in 181 BC and became one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the early Roman Empire.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Location: Western Necropolis, Aquileia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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