A marble sculpture depicting a woman's head has been the subject of thorough analysis by scientists. Who was the mysterious lady? Thanks to the researchers, we now know the answer to this question.
The team, which includes members from Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, has just published an article in the prestigious online journal npj Heritage Science concerning the discovery made in 2003 by a Polish-Ukrainian archaeological expedition in Chersonesos Taurica (Sevastopol in Crimea, Ukraine).
The most significant achievement of this work is the identification of the woman immortalised by the sculptor with a specific historical figure known from epigraphic sources – a Roman lady named Laodike. The researchers successfully connected the sculpture's face to the wife of Titus Flavius Parthenokles, a city council member from one of the most influential families in Chersonesos.
Prof. Elena Klenina from the AMU Faculty of History, who is responsible for the International Interdisciplinary Expedition in Novae, had already conjectured that the marble head discovered by researchers during excavations over 20 years ago depicted a figure of high status. However, a detailed interdisciplinary analysis was needed to confirm this hypothesis. In the article entitled "An interdisciplinary study of an unknown Roman matron's sculpture portrait from Chersonesos Taurica," the researchers presented the results of the study conducted in Poland and Spain under the supervision of Prof. Elena Klenina.
The researchers combined several methods: spectral-isotopic analysis of marble (to determine its origin), traceological studies (to determine the sculptor's skills), C14 dating (to refine the dating of the artefact), material science studies (to examine the layers on the surface of the head), stylistic analysis by an art historian from Spain, historical and epigraphic analysis.
Identifying Roman portraits, particularly those from distant provinces or outside the Roman Empire, presents a significant challenge, especially due to the limited written sources available."The use of interdisciplinary methods in research has made it possible not only to determine the date and origin of the material, but also to link the sculpture to a specific historical figure," explains Prof. Elena Klenina from the AMU Faculty of History. "Roman women in the first centuries AD, both within the Roman Empire and beyond its borders, played an active role in political life," the researcher adds.
The article can be read in full at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s40494-025-01975-6
Image source: article in npj Heritage Science, photo by A.B. Biernacki
