Latin inscription commemorating the building of a 'tribunal' [possibly an apse] in a basilica of *Casta (martyr, probably of Theveste, S03023). Found at Aïn Ghorab, in the region of Theveste (Numidia, central North Africa). Possibly late 4th/early 5th c.
Evidence ID
E08312
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Ad hanc do-
mum Dei tr-
ibunal basi-
licae domi-
nae Castae
sanctae ac
venerande
martyri (palm)
Sabinianus
una cum con-
iuge et filis
votum per-
fecit. (palms)
'At this house of God, the tribunal of the basilica of our lady Casta, holy and venerable martyr, Sabinianus together with his wife and children fulfilled [his] vow.'
Text: Duval 1982, no. 69.
Translation: Stanisław Adamiak.
Cult Places
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityVow
Source
This inscription was recorded on a pillar, some 150 cm high, and 40 cm wide, with letters 6 cm, found recorded at a site in the region of Theveste (the same site as an inscription recording a church of Peter and Paul, E08364). There is no photograph; the account by Duval is based on the unpublished papers of Leschi.The letter forms apparently suggest a date at the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 5th century.
Discussion
There is no other record of this martyr named Casta, unless she is the Casta named amongst a group of martyrs commemorated in Africa on 31 October according to the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (E05004). But, although she is not otherwise reliably recorded, she was certainly of some importance locally, with a church dedicated to her.'Tribunal' is a term often used for the sanctuary of a church, and can refer to an apse; as Duval suggests, it is possible that Sabinianus and his family built a new apse to house the martyr's body, similar to structures revealed archaeologically in other African churches.
Bibliography
Edition and commentary:Duval, Y., Loca sanctorum Africae: Le culte des martyrs en Afrique du IVe au VIIe siècle (Rome: École Française de Rome, 1982), vol. 1, 149-150, no. 69.
Images
)
From Y. Duval 1982, no. 69
Record Created By
Stanisław Adamiak
Date of Entry
27/07/2022
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S03023 | Casta, martyr of North Africa | Casta | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Stanisław Adamiak, Cult of Saints, E08312 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08312