FUNERARY FRESCO, 130-170 CE. TOMB A, DRUGSTORE MUSEUM The chamber tomb of which this image shows a detail was hewn out of the tufo hill off the ancient via Campana-Portuensis and rediscovered in 1967 when an ugly apartment building was erected atop it. The tomb's original construction date was somewhere between 80 and 120 CE, and continued to be used for burials until around 230 CE. Sometime in the mid C2, frescoes of food were put into the niches, and holes were cut for libations to the spirits of the dead. Here we see three fish, two small red mullets at top and a sea bream at centre, against a white background. Food was a natural subject as it formed part of a major annual celebration of the dead, the Parentalia and Caristia. During the 9-day Parentalia which started on 13 February, food and wine were offered to the manes or departed souls of dead relatives, followed by the Caristia, a feast at the tomb on February 23.
#FrescoFriday leads us into the dreary suburban sprawl of the #Portuense quarter in #Rome, where the delightful surprise of a #tomb with #fresco decoration awaits our discovery in the basement of a former supermarket, now a little museum. #AncientBluesky 🏺
![BOUNDARY STONE, MARCH-JUNE 76 CE. DRUGSTORE MUSEUM
[Imp(erator) Caesar [Vespasianus] / Aug(ustus), [pontif(ex) max(imus)) / trib(unicia) potestate) VII, imp(erator) XV, / p(ater) p(atriae), co(n)s(ul) VII / desig(natus) VIII, censor / possessum a privatis / per collegium pon= / tificum in sacrum / restituit. / L. T. F. P. T. С.
This cippus or boundary stone was found in excavations conducted 2009-2012 along the modern via Portuense, next to a small tomb on a side road of the ancient via Campana-Portuensis, heading to the salt flats at the mouth of the Tiber, and later to the harbour town of Portus. The upper part, which is badly damaged, gives us the titles of the emperor Vespasian, which allows us to give this cippus a very specific date. It states that Vespasian, through the pontifical college and hence in his role as chief pontiff, restored land to sacred use that had been illegally occupied by private persons. This happened fairly often, as sacred land, usually belonging to a temple, was public land, and was frequently encroached upon by builders as was all public land. The formula "L.T. F. P. T. C." has not been decoded, but must have been common enough to be widely understood.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:y2ps7or6drwz3yuvelv6glai/bafkreiedcohf4je4bl5t7bqm2zl3zqmiz4zwhmjex3v77plkykxssghczy)
