A head from Karataš attributed to emperor Clodius Albinus

Abstract

In the fortress on the Karataš site (Diana), which was enclosed in the Đerdap part of the Danube limes, a male head has been discovered, with portrait characteristics showing it as an official, imperial portrait. It is a portrait belonging to a specific, small group of imperial portraits originating from the territory of the Roman Empire, with the problem of identification and interpretation present in the international archaeology ever since the end of the 19th century. The find of the head from Karataš is connected with the mentioned small group of portraits belonging, according to a group of authors, to Septimius Severus (193–211), while the other group thinks it is a portrait of Clodius Albinus (193–197). After a few decades this is the first discovered find belonging to this group, which again actualizes the problem who of the mentioned two emperors was portrayed on the head from Karataš.

Keywords

• Roman sculpture
• imperial portrait
• end of the 2nd/beginning of the 3rd century
• the Đerdap part of the limes
• Septimius Severus
• Clodius Albinus