TOMB 97 (continuation)
       

Originally tomb 97 was used for cremation only. Inside the niches and on the ceiling traces of flower decoration and geometrical motifs can be seen.
During a second period of use a new entrance was built next to the inscription on the eastern wall. The new entrance was constructed on a much higher level than the original one, and was probably accessible via a wooden staircase.
In the same period formae for inhumation were dug into the entire floor of the portico.
It looks like the altar was part of
tomb 97 already from the start.
The altar is richly decorated and
has grooved columns with
capitals, depicting horns of plenty, in top.
Between the columns we see a frieze with a bush, a lion, a panther and two griffins. In the tympanum the deceased is depicted with a hairdress from the time of Trajan, the time in which tomb 97 was built. Therefore tomb 97 belongs to the oldest graves in this necropolis. The second period of use dates from
the third century AD.

(click to continue tomb 97)