Evidence ID
E07858
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
[M]emoria beatiss[i]
[mor]um martyrum
[Pet]ri (chrisme) et Pauli
'Relics (memoria) of the most blessed martyrs, Peter and Paul'.
Text: Y. Duval 1982, no. 169.
Translation: Stanisław Adamiak.
RelicsTransfer/presence of relics from distant countries
Transfer/presence of relics from distant countries
Unspecified relic
Source
The inscription was found during the excavations in 1951-5 of a basilical church, some 25 m long, just outside the walls of Tipasa. It is broken on all sides (with no recorded dimensions), but the wording is sufficiently complete to allow a confident reading. It was recorded by Duval in the museum of Tipasa.According to Duval, the form of the letters and the orthography of 'martyrum' indicate the date of the inscription as the second half of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth century.
Discussion
The word memoria (literally 'memory') could indicate a shrine or church; but it was also used in several north African inscriptions as a synonym for reliquiae ('relics') - see, for instance, E08256. Augustine too uses the word both for memorial shrines and for relics themselves (see, for example, E01109 and E01111 for this latter use).The wording of our inscription at Tipasa, and its brevity, probably indicate the location of relics - though it is of course possible that the church they were housed in was also dedicated to Peter and Paul.
Bibliography
Edition and discussion:Duval Y., Loca sanctorum Africae: Le culte des martyrs en Afrique du IVe au VIIe siècle (Rome: École Française de Rome, 1982), vol. 1, 357-358, no. 169.
Further reading:
Baradez, J., "Note sur les fouilles de la porte orientale de Tipasa et de la zone voisine," Bulletin archéologique du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques 1951-2 (1954), 181-189.
Images
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From Y. Duval 1982, no. 169
Record Created By
Stanisław Adamiak
Date of Entry
18/02/2020
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Certain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Stanisław Adamiak, Cult of Saints, E07858 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07858