Latin epitaph for a person buried near a saint whose name is lost, probably *Laurence/Laurentius (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037). Found in the cemetery of Cyriaca, via Tiburtina, Rome. Probably late 4th or early 5th c.
Evidence ID
E05297
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Archaeological and architectural - Internal cult fixtures (crypts, ciboria, etc.)
[locus V]itellia[ni - - -]
[- - -] quem s[e vivo sibi]
[compa]ravit a[- - -]
[- - - a]t dom[num - - -]
'[Tomb] of Vitellianus [- - -] which he prepared [for himself when he was still alive - - -] near the lord [- - -].'
Text: ICVR, n.s., VII, no. 18098 = EDB27698.
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
Fragment of a marble plaque. H. 0.35 m; W. 0.19 m; Th. 0.06 m. Letter height 0.03 m.Found in obscure circumstances in the cemetery of Cyriaca on the via Tiburtina. Now in the storeroom E3. First published by Antonio Ferrua in 1980.
Discussion
The inscription commemorates a burial near the tomb of a saint. This could be Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome, venerated in the area where the inscription was found. A similar epitaph was recorded on the surface level of the cemetery. That one mentions a burial in a church, but still in proximity of Laurentius' tomb: in basilica maiore ad domnu Laurentium / 'in the basilica maior near the lord Laurentius' (see E05294).Dating: Antonella Daniela Agostinelli (in EDB) dates the inscription to the second half of the 4th - first half of the 5th c.
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, nos. EDB27698, see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/27698
De Santis, P., Sanctorum Monumenta: "Aree sacre" del suburbio di Roma nella documentazione epigrafica (IV-VII secolo) (Bari: Edipuglia, 2010), no. 85.
De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A. (eds.), Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 7: Coemeteria via Tiburtinae (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1980), no. 18098.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
09/04/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00037 | Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E05297 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05297