E07506: Latin inscription in Dougga (Africa Proconsularis, North Africa) honouring God and martyrs. Probably 4th/5th c.

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posted on 2019-04-03, 00:00 authored by sadamiak

In nomen Dei
et in nomen marturoru
Exupius reddit votum.
Hunc port[i]cu[m basilicae?]
s[uis sumptib]u[s exstruxit?]

'In the name of God and in the name of the martyrs.
Exupius fulfilled the vow.
He constructed on his own cost this porticus of the basilica (?)'

Text: Y. Duval 1982, no. 17, following Poinssot. Translation: S. Adamiak.

History

Evidence ID

E07506

Saint Name

Anonymous martyrs from Dougga (North Africa) : S02807

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Anonymous_martyrs_from_Dougga_North_Africa_/13737664

Type of Evidence

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

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

304

Evidence not after

450

Activity not before

304

Activity not after

450

Place of Evidence - Region

Latin North Africa

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Dougga

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

Dougga Carthage Carthago Karthago قرطاج‎ Qarṭāj Mçidfa Carthage

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Vow

Cult Activities - Cult Related Objects

Inscription

Source

The marble plate 62 x 33 cm from the exedra of the cemetery basilica in Dougga was reconstructed from 26 fragments. The letters are 4 to 4,5 cm high. The church was built in the beginning of the 5th century at latest, and the paleography also suggests the early date for the inscription. Currently in the museum of Tunis.

Discussion

The inscription commemorates the dedication of a porticus probably connected to the basilica, however, the archeological excavations have not managed to find it. According to Duval, this church in Dougga was built (with much effort applied) above the crypt. This suggests that some local martyrs whose names were well known were venereted in place.

Bibliography

Duval, Y., Loca sanctorum Africae: Le culte des martyrs en Afrique du IVe au VIIe siècle (Rome: École Française de Rome, 1982), vol. 1, 39–41, no. 17.