Byzantine and Christian Museum :: Permanent exhibition .::. II. The Byzantine World .::. ΙΙ.3. Worship and art
Sarcophagus (00935)
Exhibition room: II.3 Worship and art
Date: 10th-11th
Dimensions (cm): 67,5x 221,5x 75
Provenance: Athens
The marble sarcophagus was found during excavations in the area around Hadrian's Library [in Athens]. On the main face it has relief decoration with a central cross flanked by two others inscribed in a circle. All the crosses are ornamented with plant motifs. Both the decoration and the plain carving link the sarcophagus with a series of Athenian sculptures − mainly lintels − of the 10th and 11th centuries. The example from Hadrian's Library is one of the few monolithic sarcophagi in the Byzantine world.