Fragmentary Latin epitaph for a former imperial agent (agens in rebus) possibly containing a reference to his burial 'among saints'. Found in the Cemetery of Praetextatus, via Appia, Rome. Late antique.
Evidence ID
E05158
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Archaeological and architectural - Internal cult fixtures (crypts, ciboria, etc.)
Numidius [- - - ex a]-
gente in rebu[s - - -]
qui vixit ann[is]
LXVII m(enses) III dep(ositus) k[alendas - - -]
[- - - E]ncrati int[er sanctos]
line 5 was dropped in the EDB edition || possibly in t[aeo] or in deo Ferrua
'Numidius [- - -] former agens in rebus who lived 67 years, 3 months. He was buried on the calends of [- - -] of Encratius (?) among [saints (?) - - -].'
Text: ICVR, n.s., V, no. 14512 = EDB10837.
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 NarrativesOfficials
Source
Fragment of a sarcophagus. H. 0.20 m; W. 0.30 m. The inscription is framed by a tabula ansata which was carved onto the sarcophagus. Letter height 0.028 m. It is not clear whether line 5 is the final line of the original text.First recorded by Antonio Ferrua in area I9 of the Cemetery of Praetextatus, and published by him in 1971.
Discussion
The epitaph records the burial of a former imperial agent, Numidius. Ferrua found the interpretation of line 5 somewhat difficult. He suggested that the damaged word ]NCRATI could be Encratius, a by-name of the deceased ('signum defuncti') while his actual gentile name was given in line 1. This, he says, could be followed by a funerary formula. He opted for 'inter sanctos' in the basic text of the edition, but also considered other possibilities: in t[aeo] (?) or in deo/'in God'.Dating: Apart from the reference to the agentes in rebus, imperial agents and couriers, widely attested between the 4th and 7th c., there is no indication of the precise date of the inscription.
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB10837, see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/10837
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. 14512.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
06/03/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Uncertain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | Uncertain | S01744 | Saints, name lost or very partially preserved | Uncertain |
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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, E05158 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05158