This volume investigates the historical and cultural significance of Roman strigillated sarcophagi as a primary source for understanding social life in Rome from the mid-second to the early fifth century AD. Janet Huskinson, a specialist in Roman art and social history, utilizes an extensive catalog of these marble artifacts to argue that their specific decorative motifs and production methods reflect the shifting cultural and religious landscape of the later Roman Empire.

Experts recognize this work as a foundational, highly detailed resource for scholars of Roman funerary art and social history. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the thoroughness of the archaeological evidence presented.