Sopraripa t.4, “Tomba della Sirena”

The Tomb of the Siren, a Roman funerary monument, presents a broad, slightly tapering rectangular façade, topped by a projecting cornice and a relief-decorated pediment. At its centre, a large arched niche is carved into the stone. Within, the principal feature is the sculpted side of a kline, a dining couch, but here serving as a funerary bier. It has three rectangular legs, and a draped cloth falls over its side in a series of seven small arches.

Upon this couch lie the eroded remains of a draped figure, the image of the deceased. The carving is much worn, but one can make out the puffed, vertical folds of fabric where the left leg would have been bent at the knee. At the far left, a right foot, perhaps shod, protrudes from the drapery, planted flat on the couch. The niche’s rear wall leans slightly outwards; a small rectangular socket is cut near the vault. It is a quiet, damaged monument to a Roman funerary tradition, the occupant now as indistinct as the stone they inhabit.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.