This study examines a semi-finished garland sarcophagus of Proconnesian marble, discovered in Demirci Village, 16 km southwest of Sinop, and now displayed in the garden of the Antik Hotel. Although preserved only in its front and rear faces, the monument provides valuable insights into the funerary practices, social identities, and economic networks of the Roman Imperial period along the southern Black Sea coast. The Greek inscription identifies the owner as Lucius Antonius Maximus, who held prominent civic offices, including agonothetes (organizer of the agones), pontarches (possibly “president of the Pontic League”), and agoranomos (responsible for the agora). His career reflects the integration of Sinopean elites into regional and imperial structures, while the sarcophagus itself illustrates the prestige associated with imported marble monuments. Produced in the quarries of Proconnesos on Marmara Island, this sarcophagus belongs to the widespread series of semi-finished garland sarcophagi exported across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Its presence in a rural context near Sinope suggests elite ownership, most plausibly in connection with a villa rustica, and underscores the continued importance of monumental burial within local landscapes. Drawing on archaeological, epigraphic, and historical evidence, this study situates the sarcophagus within broader patterns of identity display, marble trade, and cultural connectivity in Roman Anatolia.
Nazlı Yildirim (Tue,) studied this question.