Two fragments of Latin epitaphs probably expressing a wish that the deceased would live 'among the saints,' or saying that they were buried 'among saints' (possible references to burials ad sanctos). Found in the lower part of the Cemetery of Callixtus, via Appia, Rome. Probably 5th c.
Evidence ID
E04733
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Inscription 1:
[- - -]ama [- - -]
[- - -] viva[s - - -]
[- - - inter] santos [- - -]
'[- - -] may you live [- - - among] saints [- - -].'
Inscription 2:
[- - - in]ter s[anc]tis [- - -]
'[- - -] among saints [- - -].'
Text: ICVR, n.s., IV, no. 10350 = EDB40952 and EDB40953.
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Non Liturgical Activity
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Source
Two fragments of marble plaques, broken and lost on all sides. Fragment A: H. 0.15 m; W. 0.20 m; Th. 0.013 m. Letter height 0.03 m. There is no description of Fragment B.Fragment B was found by Giovanni Battista de Rossi in staircase LI in the lower part of the cemetery of Callixtus. Published by de Rossi in 1877 with a drawing. Now probably lost. Fragment A was recorded by Antonio Ferrua in area A6. Both fragments were published together by Ferrua in 1964, but they are in fact unconnected.
Discussion
The inscriptions may, but do not necessarily, refer to some martyrs buried in the Cemetery of Callixtus. They can simply refer to the belief that the deceased will join the heavenly community of saints after their deaths.Dating: Marida Pierno (in EDB) dates the inscriptions to the 5th c.
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB40952, see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/40952
Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB40953, see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/40953
De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A. (eds.) Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 4: Coemeteria inter Vias Appiam et Ardeatinam (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1964), no. 10350a-b.
de Rossi, G.B., La Roma sotterranea cristiana, vol. 3 (Rome: Cromo-litografia pontificia, 1877), 223.
Images
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From: De Rossi 1877, 223.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
27/01/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | sancti | Certain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | sancti | Certain | S01744 | Saints, name lost or very partially preserved | sancti | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E04733 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04733