Marli and Marion at The British Museum, London

myminifactory

Inscription - 'Marli, daughter of Elahbel, son of Maki (between the heads). Marion, son of Elahbel (to the right of right-hand head)' A limestone bust from a Palmyrene funerary relief is carved with two women, veiled and wearing robes, each raising their outside hand to the veil's edge by the neck and folding one other hand across their body. One woman wears a double chain with a lunate pendant and an oval plate on a chain. An inscription accompanies this stone face. The hands folded across bodies are incomplete and badly chipped, while the face of the right figure is badly worn and incomplete. These stone faces represent Roman Syrians who lived between about AD 50-270. They come from tombs located outside the city of Palmyra. Their fashions are distinctly Syrian, but they are depicted in a realistic Roman style. Three types of tombs were built for wealthy citizens: single-storey house tombs, tomb towers with several storeys, and underground rock-hewn tombs. Inside each tomb, rows of compartments set into the walls held the remains of the dead. Each was sealed with a plaque bearing a stone portrait of the deceased person accompanied by a brief inscription.