Standing on Their Own

This article presents an in-depth analysis of the funerary stelai from Palmyra featuring single and double portraits of children. These make up 39 % of the total number of known stelai from the site and differ from the majority of the other representations, where children are typically included in family constellations with adults. This research aims to analyse these stelai as a distinct group, exploring the choices behind their depictions and their potential in terms of context, family ties, and lineage. Additionally, it seeks to elucidate why these portraits of children hold importance in the broader context, and how their study contributes to our knowledge of the modes of representations in the funerary sphere in Palmyra and the Near East during the first centuries AD.