Portrait Mummies from Antinoöpolis as Evidence for Élite Interaction between Egypt and Syria

This paper examines the mummy shrouds from Antinoöpolis in Roman Egypt and argues for a revised dating to the early third century AD, rather than the fourth century as previously proposed. Analysis of dress types and ornamentation reveals particularly close parallels with Syrian fashions, especially those of Palmyra. The study concludes that local elites followed a broader imperial trend toward more elaborate dress that emerged around the turn of the second and third centuries. Yet inspired by the luxurious attire of Syrian merchants, Antinoïtes appear to have embraced this trend earlier and more fully than people elsewhere in Egypt or the Mediterranean. Their use and depiction of long, tight-sleeved tunics and richly decorated dalmatics with wide clavi and orbiculi anticipate sartorial developments that would become widespread only in the fourth century.