ABSTRACT
Masks have had a very long history in human culture. They differ in their form, function, and material through time, and from one culture to another. This paper brings attention to the newly discovered miniature terracotta masks from the classical Decapolis city of Gerasa/Jerash in Jordan dated to the Roman period. Here, four masks are introduced. The aim of this paper is to describe and to identify the personification and the function of the masks. The authors concluded that these masks are miniature replicas for pantomime characters representing Hercules and two masks for Satyr/Faunus, and the fourth mask is a replica for comic mask representing a slave character. These masks were most probably used as offerings for Dionysus.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the Department of Antiquities of Jordan for permission and support, and the University of Jordan for funding the project.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 Mainly inscriptions. 30, 56–58, 69, 143–145, 147, 153, 192, 251.
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Funding
This research was funded by the University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Notes on contributors
Adnan Shiyab
Adnan Shiyyab is Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, School of Archaeology and Tourism, Jordan University, Amman, Jordan, email: [email protected]
Saad Twaissi
Saad Twaissi is Professor, Department of Tourism and Heritage, United Arab Emirate University, Al-Ain, UAE, email: [email protected]
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1802-6327
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