Lapidarium

Individual focal points of the Roman Provinces Collection—one of the largest and most significant in Austria—were unable to be presented in recent years due to a lack of facilities capable of conveying their large scope and archaeological value. Now, after nearly 200 years of collection and research activity on the part of the Landesmuseum Joanneum, fresh light is being shed on the Roman Provinces Collection in a new museum erected specifically for this collection: the Lapidarium. With its clear, stringent architecture, the Lapidarium places the presented exhibits center stage and takes a reserved yet consistent approach to supporting the elegance of form and artistic-archaeological value of the stone monuments. Ninety-six stones—inscriptions, reliefs, and figure sculptures—and three floor mosaics were selected from the rich collection inventory and combined into groups. Besides the gravestones or fragments of funerary monuments and archaeologically significant works of provincial Roman sculpture, visitors will encounter the prominent exhibit of a three-meter-high L. Cantius funeral stele from Graz, which is known to be one of the largest and most beautiful “Roman stones” in Austria.