Palmyrene funerary reliefs

Palmyrene funerary reliefs on display at the National Museum of Damascus and Istanbul Archaeology Museums

Palmyrene funerary reliefs are almost 4000 busts on decorative slabs closing burial niches inside underground tombs, produced in Palmyra over three centuries from the middle of the first century BC.^[1][2] It is the largest corpus of portrait sculpture in the Roman world outside Rome^[3] and the largest collection of funerary representations from one place in the classical world.^[2]

The reliefs were carved into square pieces of limestone and depicted figures in a direct frontal pose cut off at mid-torso. Arms and hands were portrayed in various gestures and poses. Most busts display a solitary figure, however some sculptures incorporate multiple figures of family members. The names and lineage of the deceased are engraved in Palmyrene Aramaic above the shoulders, and in some cases, with Koine Greek^[4] or Syriac.

Palmyrene funerary reliefs ceased to be produced after the city's sack by the Roman Empire in 273, which marked an end to its growth, development, wealth, and to its civilization altogether.

Aarhus University's Palmyra Portrait Project, led by Professor Rubina Raja, has digitised over 3,700 of the reliefs.^[2][3] The largest collection are in Syria (e.g. the National Museum of Damascus and the National Museum of Aleppo) and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek has the third largest collection^[3] and other large collections are held by the Louvre, Yale University Art Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ashmolean Museum, the National Museum of Denmark, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the British Museum.^[5]