Marble Plaque with Portraits Discovered at Ancient City of Heraclea Sintica

A marble plaque depicting an entire family—shedding light on what the people of Heraclea looked like—was discovered in the ancient city. The find dates to the second half of the 2nd century.

Today’s discovery, made during rescue excavations led by Prof. Dr Lyudmil Vagalinski (NAIM-BAS) in the Western Necropolis of Heraclea Sintica, also contains an inscription in Ancient Greek, deciphered by Assistant Professor Dr Nikolay Sharankov (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”):

“..... made this for her husband, for their children, and for herself during her lifetime.”

New Discoveries in Heraclea Sintica

The final piece of the plaque, which would have contained the woman’s name, is missing—only the last letter of her name remains. The plaque was found in fragments, having been reused for a later burial.

According to Prof. Vagalinski, this type of monument is common in the Middle Struma region and reflects the continuity of local Thracian traditions—unlike the Greek custom, which typically does not include portrait representations. In Greek funerary art, if figures are depicted at all, they usually appear in "funerary banquet" scenes, he explained.