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A Couple from the Iapodian territory. Artistic Influences at the Edge of the Roman Province of Dalmatia

A preserved fragment of a stone monument representing a married couple is kept in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. It originates from Čakovac, near Josipdol (Croatia), a site located in the area of the Iapodes, an indigenous Iron Age people. With the Roman expansion, starting in the 2nd cent. BC, the Iapodes were subjected to gradual Romanisation, and their territory was ultimately incorporated into the Roman province of Dalmatia as its northernmost point. But it seems that some aspects of the Iapodian traditional culture survived during the Roman era, and were enriched by the artistic influences of the neighbouring provinces, Noricum and Pannonia. This dynamic can be recognized on the stone monument, on which two full-length figures are represented frontally: a woman to the left and a man to the right. The man has a scroll in his left hand and is holding the woman’s right hand in his own. This motif, known as dextrarum iunctio, was common on Roman sarcophagi, some of them originating from Noricum. The fragment from Čakovac, based on its shape and dimensions, could also be a part of a sarcophagus ; the aforementioned motif, the representation of a woman’s garment, and recent microscopic stone analysis are the keys to investigating the status and origin of the portrayed couple.

stone monument ; dextrarum iunctio ; Romanisation ; Iapodes ; traditional culture

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