SARCOPHAGUS OF GROTTAROSSA, 150-200 CE. PALAZZO MASSIMO ALLE TERME This wonderfully near-intact sarcophagus was found along the via Cassia at the place called La Giustiniana at the 11th kilometre from Rome in 1964. The box itself shows a hunt from the fourth book of the Æneid, where Dido, queen of Carthage, realises she's in love with the Trojan hero Aeneas, which is bad luck for her as she'll find out. The relief work is high quality. We see Dido and Aeneas at left, with baby Ascanius, and the rest of the front is taken up with a stag hunt. The lid is very interesting. At left is a scene of a lion hunt, but at centre and right is a scene of a man on horseback absconding with a lion cub while another is fighting off the angry lion and lioness. This is a metaphor for the sudden death of a beloved child, stolen from her parents.

For #SarcophagusSaturday, the magnificent #sarcophagus of #Grottarossa, in which a little girl's #mummy was found intact with her jewelry and doll. The main scene shows a stag hunt from the #Æneid, with Dido and #Aeneas with #Ascanius at left, and a lid with a #lion hunt. #AncientBluesky 🏺