Fragmentary Latin epitaph for a woman ‘united with saints’, probably recording a burial ad sanctos. Found at the cemetery ‘ad Catacumbas’, near the church of S. Sebastiano/Basilica Apostolorum, via Appia, Rome. Probably second half of the 4th c.
Evidence ID
E05108
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Archaeological and architectural - Internal cult fixtures (crypts, ciboria, etc.)
[- - - prud]dentiae totius bonitatis que deo se[- - -]
[- - - nunc] bicinitati con[iunc]ta sanctorum [- - -]
[- - -] que bixit ann(is) X[- - -]I m(enses) VIII [de]p(osita) III idus [- - -]
[- - -] aug(usto) IIII [et - - -]
1. prud]dentiae Carletti in the EDB
'[- - -] of prudence (and) all the goodness, who to God [- - - now] she is united through the vicinity with saints [- - -] who lived [- - -] years, 8 months. She was deposited on the 3rd day before the ides of [- - -] augustus for the 4th time [and - - -].'
Text: ICVR, n.s., V, no. 13419 = EDB8419.
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Non Liturgical Activity
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Source
Five conjoining fragments of a white marble plaque. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.44 m; W. 0.76 m; Th. 0.08 m. Letter height 0.03 m.The fragments were found in 1912 in a cemetery sited to the north of the church of San Sebastiano/Basilica Apostolorum. Now in the museum of the church. The fragments were examined by Antonio Ferrua and first published by him in 1971 with a photograph.
Discussion
The inscription is an epitaph for an ordinary woman. Line 1 praises her virtues, line 2 refers to the vicinity of saints , which is very likely a description of an intentional burial ad sanctos. The saints could be some martyrs buried in the same cemetery (see, for example, *Maximus, E05091) or, possibly, the Apostles *Peter and *Paul whose lively cult flourished in this region.Dating: Lines 3 and 4 record a formula giving the age of the woman, and the date of the burial. Of the actual dating formula only a reference to the fourth consulate of a senior emperor (augustus) is preserved. Ferrua considered several possible dates, ranging from 363 (the fourth consulate of the emperor Julian held together with a certain Sallustius) to 398 (the fourth consulate of the emperor Honorius and one Eytuchianus). He doubted that the formula named the fourth consulate of Theodosius II (411), as it was rarely mentioned in inscriptions in the West.
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB8419, see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/8419
De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A. (eds.) Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 5: Coemeteria reliqua Viae Appiae (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1971), no. 13419.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
20/02/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Uncertain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Uncertain | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Certain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | 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, E05108 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05108