Athena Review Image Archive: Lower Danube: Silistra Tomb Interior (4c AD)

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Lower Danube: Silistra Tomb Interior (4c AD)

Durostorum occupied the site of the modern town of Silistra, in the northeastern tip of Bulgaria. The eastern outskirts of Silistra lie on the Danube river, forming the border between Bulgaria and Romania.

One of the major exhibits at the Silistra Historical Museum is the tomb of a Roman noble family, whose members lived during the 4th century AD, and were buried at Silistra. In 1964 preservation efforts began on the tomb, allowing extensive reconstruction of its mural paintings (fig.1).The polychrome walls each show scenes from the life of the family. In the north and south panels, male and female servants approach, carrying garments and toiletries. These scenes show a degree of realism which permits a detailed view of the Roman Danubian world.

[Fig.1: The west half of the tomb at Silistra (photo: K. Tanchev; Silistra Historical Museum, archives).]

(For a plan of the tomb:)

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