E05309: Very fragmentary Latin inscription, possibly invoking *Laurence/Laurentius (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037), and mentioning a bishop. Found in the ager Veranus, via Tiburtina, Rome. Probably from the cemetery of Cyriaca. Probably 4th c.
2. ex prefectis or ex presidibus: Ferrua || 4. [aeter]nalibus: Ferrua after Marucchi || 5. [sancte L]aurenti: Ferrua after Marucchi || 6. sub episc[opo]: Ferrua after Marucchi
'[- - -] former prefects (?) [- - -] to/by eternal [- - - O Saint] Laurentius [- - - under] bishop [- - -]'
Text: ICVR, n.s., VII, no. 18996B = EDB29858.
History
Evidence ID
E05309
Saint Name
Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome : S00037
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
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Source
Fragment of a marble plaque, broken and lost on all sides. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.335 m; W. 0.17 m; Th. 0.06 m. Letter height 0.04 m.
The fragment was found in the ager Veranus by Orazio Marucchi, and taken to the Musei Capitolini. According to the editors of the Epigraphic Database Bari, it is now displayed there in Aula Cristiana I.
First published in 1980 as a drawing by Antonio Ferrua, with a discussion on possible completions.
Discussion
In line 5, the name Laurentius was very plausibly restored by Ferrua using unpublished notes by Marucchi. Ferrua, however, warns that the identification of this person as Laurentius, the deacon and martyr of Rome, is very tentative, and that other restorations are also possible.
Dating: The inscription is dated by the editors of the EDB to the 4th c.
Bibliography
Edition:
Epigraphic Database Bari, nos. EDB29858, see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/29858
De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A. (eds.), Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 7: Coemeteria via Tiburtinae (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1980), no. 18996b.