To My Family and Uğraş Uzun - Bilkent University

CHAPTER VI
DATING
Proposing a date for the Antakya Sarcophagus is difficult for a number of
reasons. First of all, it has no inscription that might indicate a date. Second, as
explained in Chapter IV, the coins found in the sarcophagus cannot be used to
determine the production date of the sarcophagus. The earliest coin dating to AD
241, if it was minted at Rome, does not provide a terminus ante quem. The
sarcophagus could have been produced later than that date, and the deceased
could have been offered an aureus kept under the possession of his/her family for
years after it was issued, as it was a common practice to keep aurei as prestige
objects in the 3 rd century (Bland, 1996: 65). Likewise, the latest dated coin, that
of Gallienus, dating to AD 260-1, only shows that the sarcophagus could not have
been finally closed before this date. The sarcophagus could have been produced
before 260-1, and could have waited to be finally closed with the other burials in
it. It could also have been produced later than that date, though less likely, as the
production of the Docimeum columnar sarcophagi ended around 260-70
(Wiegartz, 1965: 31; Waelkens, 1982: 71), and the deceased could have been
offered aurei dating much earlier than the date they died. Moreover, it is
theoretically possible that the coins are from a secondary burial, especially when
there is ancient damage on the lid and the chest.
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