E04728: Fragmentary Latin inscription recording the burial (depositio) of a certain Gaudentius, perhaps termed a ‘saint.’ Found in one of the crypts at the Cemetery of Callistus, via Appia, Rome. Probably second half of the 4th c.

online resource

posted on 2018-01-26, 00:00 authored by CSLA Admin

d(e)p(ositio) Gaudenti sanct[- - -]

'Deposition of Gaudentius, holy [- - -]’

Text: ICVR, n.s., IV, no. 9886.

History

Evidence ID

E04728

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions Archaeological and architectural - Internal cult fixtures (crypts, ciboria, etc.)

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

350

Evidence not after

400

Activity not before

350

Activity not after

400

Place of Evidence - Region

Rome and region

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Suburban catacombs and cemeteries

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Suburban catacombs and cemeteries Rome Rome Roma Ῥώμη Rhōmē

Cult activities - Places

Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Ceremonies at burial of a saint

Source

Marble plaque. H. 0.30 m; W. 1.00 m; Th. 2.3 m. Letter height 0.05 m. The other face of the plaque bears the epitaph of an ordinary woman, Septimina, published in ICVR, n.s., IV, no. 10178. First recorded by Giovanni Battista de Rossi in area E3 of the lower part of the cemetery of Callistus, and published by him in a drawing in 1877. A transcription based on the drawing was offered by Ernst Diehl in the Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres. Revisited by Antonio Ferrua, and republished by him in 1964.

Discussion

The inscription records the burial (depositio) of a certain Gaudentius. The presence of another inscription on the back face of the plaque suggested that it was taken from another tomb, and reused. The name of the deceased is followed by the epithet sanctus/'saint.' It is not clear who this presumed saint Gaudentius was, or if the epithet really describes his peculiar status as a saint or martyr. It is possible that the word was a part of a funerary formula. Dating: Antonio Felle (EDB) dates the inscription to the second half of the 4th c.

Bibliography

Edition: Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB19180, see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/19180 De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A. (eds.) Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 4: Coemeteria inter Vias Appiam et Ardeatinam (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1964), no. 9886. Diehl, E., Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres, vol. 2 (Berlin: Apud Weidmannos, 1927), commentary to no. 3004. de Rossi, G.B., La Roma sotterranea cristiana, vol. 3 (Rome: Cromo-litografia pontificia, 1877), Tav. XXI.

Usage metrics

Keywords

E04728 History

Licence

CC0

Exports

RefWorks

BibTeX

Ref. manager

Endnote

DataCite

NLM