Some 12km west of Celje, Šempeter is the site of a reconstructed Roman necropolis of wealthy families living in the area. The burial ground contains four complete tombs and scores of columns, stellae and fragments carved with portraits, mythological creatures and scenes from daily life. They have been divided into about two dozen sections linked by footpaths.
The most beautiful is the Ennius family tomb, with reliefs of animals and, on the front panel, the Phoenician princess Europa riding a bull. The oldest is the Vindonius tomb, while the largest is the 8m-high Spectacius tomb, raised in honour of a Roman official, his wife and son. (Notice the kidnapping scene on the side relief.) If you compare these with the later Secundinus family tomb erected in about 250 AD, it’s obvious that Roman power and wealth was on the decline here in the mid-3rd century.
