Latin epitaph just possibly referring to five saints. Probably from a cemetery on the via Nomentana, Rome. Possibly 3rd c. [provisional entry]
Evidence ID
E07478
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
sancti V[- - -]
Aureli[- - -]
1. Sancti[an]u[s] or sancti V [martyres] Ferrua
For a translation, see the commentary.
Text: ICVR, n.s., VIII, no. 23025 = EDB41612.
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Non Liturgical Activity
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Source
Left-hand fragment of a marble plaque. Preserved dimensions: H. 28 cm, W. 56 cm, Th. 2 cm. Letter height 4.5 cm. A large left-hand margin is preserved, carrying a depiction of Daniel, an Old Testament character, flanked by two lions.The stone was offered to the Lateran Museums in 1929, reportedly as a find from the via Nomentana. Later deposited in the Museo Pio Cristiano, in the Vatican. Ferrua points out that the shape of the letters supports this claim, as they are of the 'ostrian' type, common in high quality epitaphs of the via Nomentana cemeteries.
Discussion
Ferrua offers two interpretations of this text. Line 1 could contain the name of the deceased, e.g. Sancti[an]u[s]. Alternatively, this could be a reference to some Five martyrs, for example sancti V [martyres], but Ferrua does not develop on their possible identity.The editors of the Epigraphic Database Bari dates the inscription to the third century.
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB41612.
see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/41612
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. 23025 (with further bibliography).
Ferrua, A., "Incrementi epigrafici nel Museo Vaticano Pio Cristiano (1934-1970)", Rendiconti della Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia 46 (1974), 155 and fig. 19.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
24/03/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | sancti | Uncertain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | sancti | Uncertain | S01744 | Saints, name lost or very partially preserved | sancti | 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, E07478 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07478