Barcelona No. 17

Noted in Moralejo (1984) and in Clavería Nadal (1997-1998) with reference to Moralejo, as a former Roman sarcophagus originally from the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar, re-used as baptismal font as early as the 13th century. Serra Sanmiquel (2007) describes and illustrates the sarcophagus said to have been the original one used for to bury St. Eulalia of Barcelona in the early 4th century; it is reported as being originally from the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar, in Barcelona; it is described as a Roman sepulchre made of Carrara marble, of rectangular shape, the sides decorated with a wavy line pattern arranged vertically, the front with a square panel that may have been meant for an inscription; the same source notes that it was used as a baptismal font from the 4th to the 20th century, but in 1936 was moved by Frederic Mares and taken to the Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya. The interior of the sarcophagus is reported to have a drain, as well as a groove to divide the interior into two separate parts [i.e., one for holding the water, the other, with the drain, for the actual baptism.