Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes in Wien, Band 80/2011, pp. 291-308, 2024/10/08
Amongst the still visible tomb buildings in the Harbour Necropolis of Ephesos, two tomb structures stand out due to their secondary furnishings, which iconographically illustrate the transformation in burial from pagan to Christian. Tomb building 335/10 shows itself to be distinctly Christian in character: by means of images of the cross in a paradisiacal atmosphere and a quotation from Psalm 90, dating to the end of the 5thor the beginning of the 6th century, a specifically Christian hope for immortality was expressed. Less clear in this respect is tomb building 121/10, decorated in the 4th or 5th century with a stylised motif of a garden
fence: the flowers which are recognisable beyond the fence indeed indicate a sort of garden of paradise, although a Christian context for this tomb cannot be proved beyond doubt. The painting therefore stands on the threshold of a clearly articulated Christian tomb iconography.