A belongs to the l. of B. Both blocks are in two registers depicting scenes of venatio and wild beast fights.

A. Upper Register: bull, destroyed behind front legs, facing man (nude or wearing trunks). Also a bear, standing on hind legs, fighting a bull. Lower Register: bull walking l., head partly missing; also bull walking r., being speared by man walking l. wearing boots and short tunic and carrying a heavy rectangular shield.

B. Upper Register: man riding bull to l. An attacking lion with curly tail has jumped on bull’s neck. Also man riding bull to r. is being hailed (stopped?) by standing man with raised r. hand. The man riding bull, r., has the most detailed face, with small pudgy features. Lower Register: bull, facing r., is being speared by a man with heavy rectangular shield. Bull, walking l., being ridden by man with short tunic. A bear facing, r., is jumping on bull’s neck.

One of the “themes” of A is repeated in B: the man with a spear and rectangular shield, confronting a bull, is seen in the lower r. of A and the lower l. of B. Both friezes are carved within projecting ground lines (which protrude ca. 0.025 and 0.03 respectively). The background is treated with rather large-size claw chisel strokes (H. each stroke ca. 0.02).

The workmanship is lively but summary. A close, but better-done parallel from Apri in Thrace (Robert, Gladiateurs, no. 27) has a very similar arrangement in friezes, with bears in combat, and also shows men both riding and attacking bulls. On our example, the men attacking the bull are upper l. and lower r. on A, lower l. on B; while the men riding bulls are upper l. and lower r. on B. Apparently the beasts are being captured for riding in an amphitheater. Furthermore, the man in B, upper r., with raised hand, seems to be signaling, as if in games. The relief is probably from the tomb of a Roman magistrate who gave games; but it might also come from a theater, as did a similar relief from Hierapolis, which came from a theater pilaster. Here too we see men riding bulls, and bears in combat, again portrayed in two tiers.