Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 31/1. (2011)
Articles
The Funerary Stelae from Porolissum. Typological, Iconographical and Epigraphic Aspects 195 Type II.D. Triangular pediment and inscription field Characteristic mainly to Dacia Superior, this type of stela is present at Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa (Ciongradi 2007, S/S 1-6) and Apulum (Ciongradi 2007, S/A 1-2) but also in Dacia Porolissensis at Napoca (Bianchi 1985, 275, no. 158, fig. 13). The stelae of HőúXoc; (9), due to its austere style (not even the field of the pediment is decorated), has no exact analogies in Dacia and, because only a small portion of the inscription is preserved, any chronological observation is difficult to sustain (see: Ruscu 2003,107-110). Type III. Stelae with no decorative elements The three stelae from Porolissum included in this category (10-12) share the complete lack of decorative elements.12 The preliminary dressing and the carving of the letters is very deficient, which implies the lack of tools and technique specific to a professional stone carver. Thus it is reasonable to consider that these stelae were made by the commemorator, rather than a stone carver. The difficulty of shaping these gravestones must have been augmented by the use of hard volcanic rock. It is interesting to note that the text belonging to the gravestone of Iustina Afri (12) can also be found scratched ante cocturam onto a brick (see: Russu 1973, 332, fig. 2). The existence of the inscribed brick was interpreted as a temporary grave-marker employed prior to the manufacture of the gravestone (Bärbulescu 2003, 82). In our opinion it is more feasible to consider that the inscribed brick was produced by the commemorator, as part of the process which involved conceiving the epitaph and practicing its implementation. In other words, the commemorator probably recorded the text on the brick, this way also practicing its writing on an easier surface before carving it onto the monument itself. Type IV. Fragments of stelae with relative typology Out of the 30 fragments without accurate typological classification, 20 could be placed in relative typological categories based on the structural and morphological features retained. For the remaining 10 cases, the advanced state of fragmentation has prevented this approach, as these fragments are part of the epigraphic registers of the stelae and lack any trace of the frame, which could indicate the structural category which they belong to. Of the pieces classified according to a relative typology (no. 13-32), in 9 cases only their association to the category of profiled stelae was possible to establish, the overwhelming majority of them (8 fragments) retaining only part of the epigraphic field and fragments of the profiled frame. The exception is no. 14, which belonged to a stela with the depiction of the funeral banquet, displaying a frame decorated with a floral-vegetal motif unique among the monuments of Dacia. Fragment 23 seems to come from an unusual variant of profiled stela with medallionshaped niche. From the preserved part of the monument it seems that the medallion-shaped niche penetrates the upper part of the epigraphic field, which led us to believe that we are dealing with an atypical variant of the stelae with medallion. The type of stelae with attic, known in large numbers in Apulum and Micia (see: Ciongradi 2007, S/A 19-22, S/M 2-3, S/M 16), are present in Porolissum too,13 as indicated by fragments 28 and 29. The distinctiveness of these monuments is given by the fact that, while the other examples known in Dacia are monolithic, the fragments from Porolissum come from attics carved separately and attached to the stelae. 12 The stela no. 12 at the present time is lost and it is known only from the description of K. Torma (see the catalogue). 13 The correct interpretation of these fragments as parts of stelae with attics belongs to L. Teposu-Marinescu (1982,152-153, no. 220, 222, 224).
