Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 31/1. (2011)
Articles
280 I. BoDA-Cs. Szabó together with his companion (the stag being the associated animal). The size of the stag is noteworthy; it is much bigger than the eagle, whose position shows a status of hegemony, power. In these conditions the relief at Mehadia is unique not only by iconography but also due to the relation of Iuppiter Dolichenus and the god’s paredra. A different explanation of unusual proportionality is the erroneous interpretation and development of the artist, a general phenomenon in provincial art, which leads to the appearance of typical iconographies, which are hard to identify. The two animals can thus symbolically represent the attributes of two divinities from the Dolichenian cult circle (Iuppiter Dolichenus and Iuno Regina), or of a single god associated to the Syrian cult of Iuppiter Turmasgades. The votive columns (or colonettes) represent a frequent form of ex votos (altars, plates, slabs, reliefs, etc.) of Greco-Roman temples and sanctuaries even since the archaic era, widespread in Hellenistic era. The material, size and development of the object are determined by the local trait and the regional art, architectural type and votive image - relief or statuary placed on the capital. Sometimes these columns have not only a votive, decorative role within the sacred geography of the temples, but also a pragmatic architectural one. It is hard to define the role and position of these votive columns in the settings of the sanctuaries, especially in Dolichenian cult. According to the authors’ opinion, the votive column at Mehadia was placed in front of the edifice, a theory hard to accept, considering the soteriological and cosmic feature of the cult. It is more likely that a votive column was placed inside the building. From Roman Dacia we know a series of monuments of this type (monuments of provincial art, with no grooves and a simplified capitol), many of them being associated with eastern deities (IDR III/l - 140, 144, IDRIII/2 - 134, 204, 263, 281, 293, 298, 299, 307, 342, 344 (?), 358, IDR III/3 - 89, 142, 146, 289, 299, 311, 336, IDR III/4 - 49, IDR III/5 - 89, 113, 117, 136, 145, 164,188,191,218,279, 380). From the Dacian examples there are information about three Dolichenian votive columns from Tibiscum, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa and Apulum (IDR III/2 - 204, IDR III/3 - 299; CCID, no. 153); and from imperial analogies (CCID, no. 52, 60) we can see that the most widespread is the votive column with inscriptions. The example at Mehadia is thus an exception, the column being marked by the Dolichenian relief. Besides interpreting the relief another problem arises: the affinity of the sanctuary, who set it and under what circumstances. Analyzing the archaeological material, the inscriptions that could aid us in this issue are missing. In these conditions we have to look for the adepts of the cult within the auxiliary troops stationed at Mehadia war camp. Of course, we do not exclude the possibility that the depositor was a follower with social, not military function. However, as it was proven in many cases, the cult of Iuppiter Dolichenus was prevalent mainly in military spheres. The votive relief we studied was found in the cult edifice. To know who laid down the monument, we must analyze the troops stationed in the castrum at Mehadia. These troops are the following: cohors Ulpia I Brittonum, cohors III Delmatorum, cohors VIII Raetorum, and legio XIII Gemina. The symbolism of the relief must be linked to the military unit who raised the cult edifice. The temple was most likely built by the III Delmatarum, who came from an area of the Balkans inhabited by Illyrians, where the deity was particularly adored (Benea 2008, 99-105). But a direct epigraphic invocation is missing; the name of the unit appears only as stamps on some roof tiles (COH III DEL, CO III D). The ‘Dolichenian’ inventories are as follow: temples and sanctuaries; votive monuments, altars and reliefs with inscriptions; reliefs with representation of the god or the deities from his
