Abstract

In Greco-Roman Museum at Alexandria there are two marble capitals from the mid Sixth century, carved typically with a plaiting and palmettes and additionally hollowed in their upper surfaces. No one knows neither when nor for what purpose it was done. The presence of small holes drilled in the bottoms of these hollowings points out that, at a due time, both capitals could play the role of water basins. As such they could naturally be reused in modern times, like two other Corinthian capitals from Ravenna und Nicaea. However, two examples of imposts from the same time – both hollowed in their upper surfaces from the very beginning to make them water basins – found during the excavations in Christian basilicas at Chersonesos (Crimea) and Apollonia (Cyrenaica), show that it could also be done in Late Antiquity as well.