### Aracs - tombstone, palmette
the tombstone of Aracs - the 11th century The relief - which was used as a floor tile in the Benedictian monastery of Aracs (Araca, Yugoslavia) - was made to the memory of the founding of the church (it is deducted from the representation and the writing on it). Originally it might have been twice as big as it is today, and there may have been a scene with several figures under the braided decoration (the founding of the church, donators ?). The inscription - which was made later - damns the destroyers of the relics. It is also significant that the sides of the memorial stone is decorated with carvings (braids, an eagle with spread wings, a harnessed horse), so it must have stood alone. These facts connect the relief to 11th-century Hungarian memories. Its style is related to Dalmatian memories. KT palmette Vegetal ornamentation; a palm leaf spread as a fan or a heart-shape palm leaf, or a stylised lotus leaf. It can have a number of variants. This decoration was already applied by the Egyptians, Mezopotamians and the Greeks. It can also be found among the decorative elements of Byzantine art, and on the pouch-plates of the conquering Hungarians. It is a typical decorative element of early Roman architecture. There are a lot of stone fragments with palmette decorations in Hungarian museums as proofs of the beauty of richly decorated early churches, mostly from the 11th century. (Szekszárd, Esztergom, Székesfehérvár, Veszprém). KT