Very fragmentary Latin epitaph recording the donation of a tomb sited probably near a 'blessed saint' who has tentatively been identified as *Sebastianus (martyr of Rome, S00400). Found near the church of S. Sebastiano/Basilica Apostolorum at the cemetery ‘ad Catacumbas,’ via Appia, Rome. Date unknown.
Evidence ID
E05110
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Archaeological and architectural - Cult buildings (churches, mausolea)
[- - -]
̣ịṣṭạe [sepulchrum (?)]
donạv[it - - -]
ad be[atum Sebastianum (?)]
1. probably the name of the donor, Setphanus or Stercorius: Ferrua || 2. just the end of the left-hand stroke of V is preserved || 3. B was corrected by the stonecutter to D || E is scarcely visible
'[- - -] donated [(this) tomb to - - -] (sited) near the blessed [Sebastianus (?)].'
Text: ICVR, n.s., V, no. 13640 = EDB5982.
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Places Named after Saint
Cult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Places Named after SaintOther
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Source
Fragment of a marble plaque. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.32 m; W. 0.32 m; Th. 0.06 m. Letter height 0.05 m.When examined by Antonio Ferrua, the fragment was housed in the museum of the church of San Sebastiano. There is no published description of the precise find-spot. First published by Ferrua in 1971. Republished by De Santis in 2010. A high-quality digital photograph is offered in the Epigraphic Database Bari.
Discussion
Antonio Ferrua supposed that the inscription recorded a donation of a tomb. Its last line, he said, may have described its location. The line, as it is now preserved, shows, however, just several letters. It is possible that ADBE (where E is very doubtful) meant ad beatum/'near the blessed', but we can not be certain of this. Ferrua tentatively suggested that this blessed character was Saint Sebastianus. This is not entirely implausible as his relics were kept in the church near which the inscription was found, and an inscription with a dedication to Sebastianus by pope Innocentius (E05088) shows that his cult was present there already in the early 5th c.On the other hand, the church was also famous for the cult of the Apostles Peter and Paul (in the 4th c. it was formally called the Basilica Apostolorum). Therefore, the restoration ad be[atos apostolos]/'near the blessed [apostles]' is possible too. Finally, as many similar epitaphs mention burials next to unnamed martyrs, one should also consider the restoration ad be[atos martyres]/'near the blessed [martyrs].'
Paola De Santis holds Ferrua’s interpretation as valid (a burial close to a holy martyr or his or her shrine), but removes the name of Sebastianus from the text she presents. Even so, the inscription is still too short to show that it records an intentional burial ad sanctos, not a mere topographical description of the tomb.
Dating: Carlo Carletti in the EDB suspends judgement on the date of this inscription.
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB5982, see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/5982
De Santis, P., Sanctorum Monumenta: "Aree sacre" del suburbio di Roma nella documentazione epigrafica (IV-VII secolo) (Bari: Edipuglia, 2010), no. 71.
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. 13640.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
20/02/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00400 | Sebastianus, martyr of Rome | Uncertain | S01744 | Saints, name lost or very partially preserved | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E05110 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05110