Date of Aurelius Surus\' Tombstone

[Jona Lendering]

In another thread, several of you have suggested that Aurelius Surus dates to the late second or early third century; and you based yourselves on the equipment. That may be correct, but there are two problems that may deserve some attention.



(1)
The stone was found underneath Beyazit Square in Istanbul, which was, in the third century, a suburb of Byzantium, although it was outside the walls. It was forbidden to bury people in a city; but was it permitted to bury someone in an extramural part of the city? I do not know, but it strikes me as a bit odd.

A similar point is that Beyazit Square was along the main road, the Mese (= final leg of the Via Egnatia). That's where very rich people built their tombs. Could a trumpeter afford such an A-location?

(2)
The inscription is not in the usual third-century alphabet. The next photo shows an inscription from the Severan age:

The characters have a differtent shape than those on Aurelius Surus' tomb, I think (cf. two photos below).

All this does not exclude a third-century date. It may be that the tombstone is that of a man with a classical taste, and that he was one of the soldiers who were in Byzantium when Septimius Severus decided to rebuilt the city (203) - which may explain his A-location tomb, because he may have died before the wealthy Byzantines obtained the best spots.

One final remark: if we had no means to date this tombstone (no inscriptions, no picture, no location), we would almost certainly date this stone to 193-195, when Byzantium was besieged by Septimius Severus. Casualties were extremely hight, and I Adiutrix was involved.

Summa summarum: I am willing to believe that this trumpeter died in the third century, but it seems to raise questions. A late second-century date seems more plausible.

[Praefectusclassis]

See also MP Speidel, 'Eagle bearer and trumpeter', RAS 1, 3-43.
He dates this and the two other tombstones you showed to AD 214, treating them as a group. Reasons are the oriental origin of this soldier (Surus), which makes it likely he was recruited when the legion was in Syria to fight Pescennius Niger (193-6) and then died 18 years later (as mentioned on the stone) when I Adiutrix was in Byzantion with the rest of Caracalla's army.

[Jona Lendering]

See also MP Speidel, 'Eagle bearer and trumpeter', RAS 1, 3-43.

Well, who am I to disagree with Speidel? (PM underway)

[Arahne]

The position of tombstone find does not necessarily mean that there was original grave find.
Yes, necropolises are always extra muros, not intra muros. In fact it is usual that necropolis is located along the main roads.
Regarding elite parts of necropolis, You can make such comparisons only if You have completely excavated site, and even then You will not find similarities with modern large cities necropolises.
Regarding paleography, used script is also common in III century inscriptions.

[Jona Lendering]

The position of tombstone find does not necessarily mean that there was original grave find.

Yep, the thought has crossed my mind as well. One factor is that Beyazit Square was already changed two times in Antiquity: first, Constantine created the Forum Tauri over there, a market just inside the new walls of Constantinople; second, Theodosius converted this market to the Forum Theodosii. That's two occasions to bring in tombstones for pavement or other purposes. Of course, we are now trying to explain-away that might as well be accepted. I do not know.

Regarding paleography, used script is also common in III century inscriptions.

Thanks!