Carved Doors of a Tomb, from Syria: 7th century AD
The tomb door is made of basalt and is carved with four panels containing symbols (including courses of rosettes) referring to the afterlife, on either side of a pilaster. The form of the door probably imitates real wooden doors that would have been used in the houses of the well-to-do (the carved wooden window shutter in the Benaki Museum is very similar). The tradition of such doors goes back to Greek and Roman times.
