Fragmentary Latin inscription commemorating a dedication to unnamed saints, probably *Alexander and *Eventius (bishop and priest, martyrs of Rome, S00127). Found in the cemetery of Saint Alexander on the via Nomentana, Rome. Probably 5th or 6th c. [provisional entry]
Evidence ID
E07471
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements
Archaeological and architectural - Internal cult fixtures (crypts, ciboria, etc.)
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Inscription A:
sanctorum
ornavit
'decorated ... of the saints'
Inscription B:
Iunia Sabina
c(larissima) f(emina) eius
fecerunt
'[... and (?)] Iunia Sabina, the clarissima, his wife - they made it.'
Text: ICVR, n.s., VIII, no. 22959 = EDB41549.
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Burial site of a saint - sarcophagus/coffin
Altar
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Renovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Other lay individuals/ people
Aristocrats
Source
The two inscriptions are carved on two faces of two columns bases, made of marble, and measuring 25 cm x 21 cm x 21 cm. Both texts are framed, and measure respectively 10 cm x 18.5 cm, and 11 cm x 18.5 cm. Letter height 2.2 cm. The columns supported by the bases were probably designed to carry the ciborium.Found by Giovani Battista de Rossi in 1854, in proximity of the saints’ altar in the cemetery.
Discussion
It is very probable that both inscriptions come from the same dedicatory text, the majority of which is now lost. Ferrua suggested a hypothetical restoration of the entire inscription, including the text from the other two, now lost, bases of the ciborium: [NN sepulcrum] sanctorum ornavit [Eventio et Alexandro sanctis martyribus. NN et] Iunia Sabina c.f. eius fecerunt / '[NN] decorated [the tomb] of the saints [Eventius and Alexander, the holy martyrs. NN and] Iunia Sabina, the clarissima, his wife, made (it)'. Although the general sense is plausible, the actual phrasing can, of course, be disputed.Orazio Marucchi rather implausibly considered Inscription B as an independent dedication and understood it as: Iulia Sabina c(um) f(ilio) eius fecerunt/'Iulia Sabina with her son - they made it'.
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB41549.
see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/41549
De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A. (eds.) Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 8: Coemeteria viarum Nomentanae et Salariae (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1983), no. 22959 (with further bibliography).
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
24/03/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00127 | Alexander, Eventius and Theodolus, bishop, priest and deacon, martyrs of Rome | sancti | Uncertain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E07471 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07471