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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.

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posted on 2018-04-11, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

[- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ]
[- - -]..[- - - - - - - - - - - -]
[- - -] ex prẹ[fectis? - - -]
[- - -]antae [- - - - - - - - ]
[- - - aeter?]ṇalibus [- - -]
[- - - sancte L]aurent[i - ]
[- - - sub] episc[opo - - ]
[- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ]

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

Saint Name in Source

Laurentius

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Laurence_Laurentius_deacon_and_martyr_of_Rome/13729198

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.) 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

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.