Military iconography on bone plaques for funerary beds from the Porta Nola necropolis and the Casa del Fabbro in Pompeii

Excavations at Pompeii’s Porta Nola necropolis have unearthed a large number of bone fragments pertaining to funerary beds from cremation tombs. Some of these fragments feature striking sculpted decorations with military motifs, including Hellenistic-style shields and helmeted soldiers’ heads. Similarly decorated bone fragments from other beds have been discovered in the Casa del Fabbro. Similarities of both iconography and productive techniques from bone plaques with military iconography at both locations are striking, and suggestive of connections within the topography of the production of these luxury beds in the city. Here, over 2,000 bone fragments from these two sites in Pompeii are analyzed together to form a typology of military iconography found on bone plaques on beds in Pompeii, and parallels from elsewhere in the Empire are also considered. This provides valuable insights into Roman funerary practices, craftsmanship, and socio-cultural dynamics at Pompeii in the later Julio-Claudian period.