Hellenistic and Roman sarcophagus reliefs were largely cut with a drill rather than chisels, enabling and encouraging compositions extremely crowded with figures, which are also seen in the enormous strips of reliefs that wound round Roman triumphal columns.
Hellenistic and Roman sarcophagus reliefs were largely cut with a drill rather than chisels, enabling and encouraging compositions extremely crowded with figures, like the Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus (250-260 CE). These are also seen in the enormous strips of reliefs that wound round Roman triumphal columns.