GABBARI

Tomb B1 - Chamber B1.4

Chamber B1.4, with its connected underground chamber B1.8, had its own doorway arrangement. The different phases of organising the walls can be seen. In the first stage, the northern and southern walls were divided by lines of red paint marking out four superimposed rows of loculi. The eastern wall presents another aspect : from the moment that the wall was actually cut, the masons left certain sections jutting out. These determined the situation and interior volume of the loculi as well as being part of the decoration. The inscriptions painted in red directly onto the roughly cut walls can be seen as part of this first phase of organisation. Other painted inscriptions tell us the names of the deceased.

Inscription of the undertaker

This inscription notes the concession of half the wall to an undertaker who thus reserves the space to create loculi for his clients.

Funerary inscription

On the decoration around a loculus, which in the original continued over onto the closing slab, the name of the deceased with a formula of farewell can be remarked: "Excellent Dionysia farewell."