April 2019 (123.2)

Archaeological Note

A Relief Decorated with a Griffin Discovered in the Forum Portico in Augusta Emerita (Mérida, Spain)

By Antonio Peña and Teresa Barrientos

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This note describes the fragment of a relief decorated with a griffin discovered during an excavation in 2015 in Mérida (ancient Augusta Emerita), Spain. The piece is exceptional for its considerable size and its singular iconography and because the only known parallels are in reliefs on imperial buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo. The excavation site is in what is known as the Forum Portico, a Flavian-period cult precinct to the northeast of the Roman forum.

Relief fragment with a griffin head from the Forum Portico at Mérida. Mérida, Consorcio de la Ciudad Monumental de Mérida, inv. no. 12020/372/1.

Relief fragment with a griffin head from the Forum Portico at Mérida. Mérida, Consorcio de la Ciudad Monumental de Mérida, inv. no. 12020/372/1.

More articles like this:

Iconography • Sculpture • Roman Period • Excavation • Europe > Spain-Portugal
Relief fragment with a griffin head from the Forum Portico at Mérida. Mérida, Consorcio de la Ciudad Monumental de Mérida, inv. no. 12020/372/1.

Relief fragment with a griffin head from the Forum Portico at Mérida. Mérida, Consorcio de la Ciudad Monumental de Mérida, inv. no. 12020/372/1.