A Roman-era tomb with a rare bilingual funerary inscription has been discovered in Strikçan, northern Albania. It dates to the 3rd or 4th century A.D. Measuring 9 by 6 meters (30 by 20 feet) with a burial chamber 2.4 meters (8 feet) high, it is the first monumental tomb from the Roman period discovered in Albania.
The tomb consists of three parts: a monumental staircase leading down to an entrance hallway with the burial chamber at the end. The staircase walls are decorated with geometric decorations on stucco. It is constructed of large stone blocks quarried from a distance and transported to the location. Evidence of wall structures on top of the tomb suggest it may have been a mausoleum design, not just a underground chamber tomb.
The size and architecture of the tomb are not the only archaeologically significant elements. The tomb was looted in antiquity, but the remains of funerary furnishings were found on the bed in the burial chamber, including glass vessels, bone combs, knives and a large section of textile woven with gold thread.
It also contains an inscription in Greek and Latin dedicated to ΓΕΛΛΙΑΝΟΣ (Gellianos), the tomb’s occupant. The deceased was connected to the Gellius family, perhaps as a relation or as a freedman who chose to take their name. The gens Gellia was a well-known plebian family of Samnite origin whose most well-known member today is Aulus Gellius, grammarian, magistrate and author of the Attic Nights, a popular compendium of stories and essays from other ancient sources that has come down to us nearly intact, missing only one chapter.
Because of its great significance, the tomb will be granted protected status while archaeologists document and analyze its contents, including the human osteological remains.
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