Roman Sarcophagus in Garden at Withington Hall

The Roman sarcophagus located in the garden at Withington Hall dates back to the early third century and is made of marble. It features a bowl with straight sides and rounded ends, although the cover is missing. The front of the sarcophagus displays a central panel with three graces in high relief, where the central figure is turned away while the figures on either side face forward, all dressed in knotted hymata around their lower bodies. There are panels of S-shaped flutings on either side. At each end, there are high relief figures of a husband and wife, each accompanied by a smaller figure at their feet, though the faces of these figures have only been roughly blocked in. The ends of the sarcophagus have straight vertical flutings with a cable design on the lower half of each flute, which extend halfway around each end, after which the outline of arabesque patterns has been roughly blocked in. The rear of the sarcophagus is plain. Similar sarcophagi can be found at Penrice Castle in Glamorgan and the Villa Ferrauiulo in Albano.