Sarcophagus with ships and a lighthouse

Reputed to have been found at Ostia. Bought in 1895 by Carl Jacobson from the Villa Borghese in Rome.
Date: late third century AD. W. 1.78, h. 0.52, d. 0.54.

We see three ships under full sail, each with a steersman and two crew members. The left and right ship differ from the central one: they have a central mast, a spritsail, a pattern on the sails, and a goose-neck on the stern. In the waves below the ships are dolphins and a sailor who has fallen overboard. A man in the left ship seems to be reaching out to him. At the far right is a lighthouse with three storeys and a burning fire.

At the far left is a building with a balcony. A man is standing in a door, carrying a platter with two round objects. More men are behind him and on the balcony.

Poulsen 1951, cat. nr. 787. Inv. nr. 1299. Arachne 8903. Photos: Wikimedia, Marie-Lan Nguyen (top) and Gun Powder Ma (bottom; copy in the Museum für Antike Schifffahrt, Mainz).