It was in 1891 when Soterios Asteriadis, clerk of the Consulate General in Thessaloniki, published in the periodical Estia (Ευρήματα εν Θεσσαλονίκη, Eikonographemene Estia, vol. Β, issue 48) the funerary relief of Polycarpos among other archaeological finds, which, as referred, where found during the demolition of the walls near the Cassandrian or Kalamaria Gate (known today as Syntrivani Square).

The funerary relief with a hight of 44 cm is made of whitish marble, while traces of paint remain in places. The relief displays the forward-facing portrait heads of a couple. Engraved on the lower part is a three-line inscription stating that Momo, daughter of Torcos, erected the monument in memory of her husband Polycarpos, son of Plator:

Μωμώ ∙ Τόρκου ∙ καὶ ∙ Πολύκαρ-

πον Πλάτορες τὸν ἄνδραν

ἑαυτῆς μνήμης χάριν.

The characteristics of the hairstyles of this couple have parallels in reliefs dating to the middle of the 2nd century.

The absence of an architectural border, the tool-marks on the left edge, and the traces of plaster on the upper part and the left side show that the relief had been set into some larger funerary structure. The indicated find-spot of the relief, near the Cassandrian Gate, and therefore in the vicinity of the city’s eastern cemetery, suggest that the relief came originally from a funerary monument that was later reused as building material to the east wall, probably for its reinforcement during barbarian attacks.

The object is displayed in the temporary exhibition “For a flame that burns on [1821-2021] Antiquities and Memory, Thessaloniki - Macedonia”