Terracotta funerary plaque
Prothesis (laying out of the dead)
During the Archaic period, burial shafts in Attica were often covered by solid, rectangular, house-like structures with plastered mud-brick walls and slightly sloping roofs. A series of terracotta plaques showing different stages of the funeral were probably set into the outer walls. In this very early example, the deceased is shown lying on a bier surrounded by mourners.
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