Images of Female Divinity and Silvanus from Opačić: Insights into Local Religion in Roman Dalmatia

Two stone panels with images of Silvanus and a female deity – usually recognised as an indigenous interpretation of Diana – were discovered by chance in what seems to be an original context, together with a pot, an inscription and two coins. Unfortunately, some parts of the original assemblage, such as the inscription and one of the coins, did not make it to the museum in Sarajevo and are forever lost for scholarship. Earlier scholarship focused exclusively on the typology of the images and their place in the cult of the Dalmatian Silvanus. However, this discovery in a clear indigenous context still provides a unique opportunity to get an insight into some theoretical aspects of indigenous spiritual life in early Roman Dalmatia, which will be explored in this paper. This, in particular, refers to the issues of ritual, indigenous literacy and knowledge of Latin, the adaptation of Mediterranean and Roman imperial religious templates, the function and meaning of artifacts and assemblages in religious worship, etc.