The present study deals with the question of the organization of the stonemasonry production of funerary monuments in the interior of the former Roman province of Dalmatia. The aim of the research was to identify a model of stonemasonry production that originated in a mountainous and difficult to traverse area, where the possibilities of water transport of stone material are minimal. The author started from the assumption that production centres formed in some geographical areas during Roman rule, using local limestone sources for their operation. The study includes funerary monuments discovered in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the western part of Serbia and Montenegro. By combining the methods of macroscopic petrographic analysis of the stone material and typological and spatial analysis, the existence of several production centres was proven. The results of the analyses indicate a very likely that they exploited the local limestone resources. Epigraphic data also made it possible to define their chronological aspect. The study is essentially divided into two parts. The first presents the results of the material analyses, followed by a typological analysis. The second part contains a catalogue of the funerary monuments. In the introduction, the basic framework of the study is presented. The next chapter focuses on the result of the macroscopic-petrographic material analysis carried out on the funerary monuments at National Museum in Sarajevo. The main focus is on the interpretation of the results of the material analysis and the attempt to establish a possible spatial relationship between the (limestone) source area and the individual funerary monuments that were the subject of the analysis. Since the study encompass vast study area, the territory was arbitrarily divided into several parts, namely the northern, north-western, southwestern, southern, central and eastern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The typological analysis also presents stelae, cinerary urns and lids that were not included in the material analysis. This slightly extends the study area to the east, where it covers a small part of the stone funerary monuments from the southwestern part of Serbia and northern Montenegro. The analysis in this chapter aims to determine the main types on the three most numerous and best-preserved groups of funerary monuments in the study area, i.e. of stelae, cinerary urns, lids. The chapter analysing the spatial distribution of individual types and subtypes follows on from the previous chapter. Here, the mapping of individual types, subtypes of stelae, cinerary urns and lids is used to spatially delimit the most likely production centres. The results of material analyses are also considered and provide important arguments for the definition of production centers. In the chapter on organization and production process, the author looks for the evidence, which could indicate the organisation of work process, and also focusing onto the relationship between the quarry-based and sculpting workshops and the commissioner. The conclusion lists the main findings of the study and draws attention to the possible production model(s) of those rare funerary monuments that were not produced locally.

The present study aims to present a special part of the pieces from the collections of the 􀂳Vasile Pârvan􀂴 Institute of Archaeology of Bucharest, that is the ancient Egyptian funerary figurines (9.26-0D9.2B26-0D79.26-0) coming from the antiquarian donations. While there were some early attempts at doing preliminary descriptions of some of the objects of this 􀁎ind, hitherto this is the first in-depth study which investigates on multiple levels these funerary figurines. The Romanian antiquarian collections including ancient Egyptian artifacts and now belonging to the 􀂳Vasile Pârvan􀂴 Institute of Archaeology are dated around the middle of the 19th century. The beginning was made by the National Museum of Antiquities of Bucharest, founded in 1864 by the Prince Alexandru Ioan Cu􀁝a. According to the 1906 catalogue of the National Museum of Antiquities in Bucharest published by its director, archaeologist Grigore G. Tocilescu, in the cabinet no. 3 in Hall No. 1, also named Mavros Hall, on seven boards there were cult objects from the following collections (chronologically): General Nicolae Mavros, Ce􀁝ar Bolliac, Earl Scarlat Rosetti, Mihail 􀀮ogălniceanu, and Procopie Casotti. Among these, Tocilescu recorded 151 Egyptian objects to which he gave brief descriptions but upon closer observation most of these descriptions turned out to be rather inaccurate. Also, he provided no further details about these pieces belonging to the respective collections except those at positions 29-40, donated by Procopie Casotti in 1890. It is 􀁎nown that the Mavros donation included a small si􀁝e collection of Egyptian antiquities (including scarabs, statuettes, amulets, and li􀁎ely a fragment of basalt sarcophagus). Colonel Dimitrie Papa􀁝oglu made also an important donation of a rich archaeological material which, according to the inventory of donations, included a number of Egyptian pieces. Other significant donations of Egyptian antiquities made in the second half of the 19th century included those of Scarlat Rosetti, Nicolae 􀀮ret􀁝ulescu, captain I. Horovit􀁝 (Orovet􀁝). After 1906 the fund of Egyptian objects has increased due to the additions from the collections Len􀜈, Solacolu, Sut􀁝u, Orghidan (the Romanian Academy collection). Currently, there is a fund of 151 Egyptian objects in the collections of the 􀂳Vasile Pârvan􀂴 Institute of Archaeology of Bucharest. The pieces come from various antiquarian private collections, and cover different 􀁎inds of media and styles: 32:052,071; ceramic and alabaster vessels; plastic (statuettes of mummiform or predominantly mummiform funerary servants – of 9.26-0D9.2B26-0D79.26-0 type and fragments of 9.26-0 mummiform % legs); bron􀁝e statuettes (representing 􀁝oomorphic gods); integral or fragmentary anthropomorphic and 􀁝oomorphic statuettes of deities, having mainly funerary destination, as well as magical and religious one; scarabs; amulets with funerary destination, in mummiform context; of mummiform and cultic context type; adornments (nec􀁎laces; bead/axle dis􀁎); 􀃀int pieces; mummies of birds and a fragment of a human mummy (the hand of a woman with a scarab ring), as well as ecofacts (a septarian spheroidal geological formation or a septarian nodule, very similar to a scarab; carcasses of dates). The collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts of the 􀂳Vasile Pârvan􀂴 Institute of Archaeology of Bucharest includes 31 funerary figurines of the 9.26-0D9.2B26-0D79.26-0 type, to which is added one 9.26-0B container covering a period extending from the New 􀀮ingdom to the Ptolemaic period. Needless to say, being purchased from dealers by the aforementioned collectors, the history comprising the way of acquisition and the provenance of these 31 funerary figurines also still remains un􀁎nown. The author’s approach is to put in concordance the results of Egyptological research about funerary figurines with the information obtained from the analysis of the thirty-one pieces in the collections of the 􀂳Vasile Pârvan􀂴 Institute of Archaeology. This is why the study contains detailed pictures of each figurine, particularly because a substantial part of them have hieroglyphic inscriptions. Although extensive, the present study is just the first part of a much larger volume which will include the detailed catalogue descriptions of all Egyptian pieces in the collections of the 􀂳Vasile Pârvan􀂴 Institute of Archaeology. The author􀀊s aim is to provide an accurate description as detailed as possible of each object, to integrate it from a historical, chronological, societal and stylistic point of view in the wider framewor􀁎 of the ancient Egyptian artifacts of the same type and, as far as possible, to identify the original owners (the ancient Egyptian ones) of these funerary goods and to contribute to the reconstitution of their funerary treasure, and by means of this, of their role and status in the ancient Egyptian society. Last but not least, another goal would be the identification of the route of origin of the antiquarian type of acquisition. The study is structured in two main parts, starting from general to specific. The first part is a synthetic presentation of the funeral components as guarantors of immortality and of the history of the funerary statuettes of 9.26-0D9.2B26-0D 79.26-0 type. This section is essential for understanding of the role of the funerary figurines of this 􀁎ind in the ancient Egyptian society. The second one is a catalogue of the funerary figurines of this type in the 􀂳Vasile Pârvan􀂴 Institute of Archaeology of Bucharest. To integrate them into the general existing typology, two criteria of classification of the figurines were followed: the chronology and the presence or the absence on their bodies of any inscription. In this way the details of each piece will give scientists deeper insights into their specific history and integrate them into the general typology.

The growing interest in the period of Late Antiquity and the place objects of applied art have gained within the framework of contemporary visual culture studies served as reasons for re-examining the role and iconographic solution on a group of Late Antique objects. These include two lamps kept at the Belgrade City Museum, a reliquary from the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NIAM-BAS) in Sofia and a cameo from the collection of the National Museum in Belgrade. One of the lamps from the Belgrade City Museum is decorated with the representation of a bearded man on the disc. On other objects, we encounter a cross flanked by figures identified as St Constantine and Helen. There are no known analogies for the lamp with a bearded male portrait from the Belgrade City Museum. Judging by the craftsmanship, the lamp is of North African provenance, produced at Sidi Marzouk Tounsi in the fifth century. The figure on the disc has been identified as both Christ or the emperor Julian the Apostate, the latter version being adopted by a number of authors. Still, the provenance and date of these objects disprove both identifications. The iconographic solution does not correspond to the type of a beardless Christ appearing on the lamps of this period. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine the mass production of objects depicting the apostate emperor in the time of the anti-pagan measures of Theodosius and his successors, as well as in the spiritual climate of the North African provinces marked by the personality of Augustine of Hippo. Comparisons with other, accurately identified portraits of Julian, demonstrate that he is always shown bearing prominent imperial insignia, primarily a diadem and a fibula adorned with precious stones. However, the figure depicted on the lamp shows similarities with the description of the Neopythagorean philosopher Apollonios of Tyana and the portrait on the contourniate issued in Rome at the end of the fourth century. An ascetic, miracle worker and healer, Apollonios was the subject of controversy between Christians and pagans in Late Antiquity. Whereas pagan circles regarded him as a holy man, Christians perceived Apollonios as a threat to the authority of Christ the Miracle Worker, yet acknowledging him some qualities due to the spirituality and ascetic life he was leading. We meet the same ambivalent attitude towards Apollonios in Augustus, who mentiones him in two of his epistles. As for the objects showing figures flanking the cross, which have been thought to represent St Constantine and Helen, it turned out that in all three cases, the identification was imprecise or insufficiently substantiated. On the basis of analogies from Athens and Florence, the Egyptian provenance of the lamp from the Belgrade City Museum has been established. The iconographic details of the representation, above all the naked and accentuated breasts of a female figure, suggest that the scene depicts St Thecla and Minas. Thecla was a saint from Asia Minor, whose cult spread throughout the Mediterranean in the fourth century. It was particularly accepted in Egypt, where Thecla was associated with St Minas, a well-venerated Egyptian saint and miracle worker. The connection between the two cults and their popularity in Egypt from the forth to the seventh centuries can be confirmed by written sources and pilgrimage items depicting St Minas and Thecla, appearing individually or together, in several iconographic variants. Regarding the reliquary from Yabalkovo, we may still find sources supporting the claim that St Constantine and Helen are shown on the lid of a silver box, despite the fact that already in 1990 Vikan pointed to the analogy with the engagement and wedding rings, based on the inscription OMONOIA and a pair of busts, male and female, flanking the cross. The inscription and form of the representation speak in favour of the thesis of a married couple on a small chest that was part of the bride’s trousseau. The context of the finding indicates that the object was secondarily used as a reliquary. Intaglio of jasper, today housed at the National Museum in Belgrade, is decorated with a delicate and very stylised representation of a cross flanked by figures. There are not enough elements to determine whether the figures be male and female or two males. The formal and stylistic details point to Sassanid art production. Although we cannot completely reject the possibility that the figures show St Constantine and Helen, the existing analogies suggest two male figures, possibly the Apostles Peter and Paul. When it comes to the cultural climate of Late Antiquity, a group of seemingly unrelated objects appears illustrative enough. They reveal the simultaneous persistence of pagan and Christian traditions, the Christianisation of pagan customs, and the way secular objects gain cultic purpose by means of recontextualization. A lamp with orants is a confirmation of the widespread pilgrimage practice, while the cameo from the National Museum in Belgrade attests to the interculturality of the period.

The National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana was founded as the Camiolan museum in 1821; it opened for he public in the Lycaeum building in 1831, and relocated to its present building in 1885 soon after its completion. The lapidarium is one of the museum's earliest collections. In addition to approximately two hundred inscribed Roman monuments, it contains mainly fragmentary sculptures, reliefs, and architectural elements. These stone monuments come mostly from Ljubljana (Roman Emona) and from Ig, one of the most important vici in Emona's territory; also from Trojane (Roman Atrans in Noricum), Dmovo near Krško (Neviodunum in Upper Pannonia), and from other sites in Dolenjska (Lower Corniola). Some twenty-five inscriptions are from Trebnje (Praetorium Latobicorum in the territory of Neviodunum) and from Bela Krajina. Analyses of the stones of some of the monuments were carried out under the supervision of Professor Anton Ramovš, who also determined some of the stone types without resorting to chemical analyses; as was expected, in most cases the stones of the monuments from the lapidarium are local. It has been established that the Glince and Ig limestone predominate at Emona; the latter originated from several sites at lg and its vicinity, including the Podpeč quarries. Local limestone was also mostly utilized for the inscribed monuments from Zasavje (the Sava valley and its hinterland), as well as for those from the Krško region and Trebnje (the former Neviodunum ager). Monuments carved in Aurisina (Nabrežina, above Trieste) limestone are exceptional, consisting of a few late Republican or early Augustan inscriptions from Nauportus (present-day Vrhnika) and Emona. Equally few monuments were manufactured from Pohorje marble.

The paper publishes a series of fragmentary Roman monuments embedded into the walls of churches in Moldovenești and Bădeni (Cluj County). A part of them, epigraphic pieces belong to fragmentary funerary monuments and bring new information on onomastic and prosopography. Other fragments of funerary monuments only preserve the figurative and decorative sculptural decoration. Only two monuments are votive: a relief with the figure of Silvanus and an uninscribed altar. To have a complete picture of the recycling habit of the Roman monuments during the Middle Ages, some decorated architectural fragments are also presented. All these monuments come from the ancient city of Potaissa (currently Turda, Cluj County).