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The Tombstone of Flavius Augustalis
#1
In his article ‘Backbone of the legions’ in Ancient Warfare Special Issue 2010, Duncan Campbell drew attention to the tombstone of the centurion Flavius Augustalis (CIL V, 914) and the extraordinary precision with which his length of service is recorded: five years, six months, twelve days and four hours. This intrigued me and I looked up the inscription in Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby. What I found intrigued me further and I hope to come back to that but, in the meantime, I would like to try to establish the text. The reason for this is that, having followed the link to images of the stone and having studied the detailed photograph of the inscription there, I find myself in disagreement with the published reading.

The EDCS reading is as follows:

D(is) M(anibus) / Fla(vius) Augustalis cent(urio) / leg(ionis) Pri(mae) It[alica]es(!) milita/vit annis V me(n)s(ibus) VI die(bus) / XII (h)oras(!) IIII vixit annis / XLI me(n)s(ibus) VII die(bus) XV (h)oras(!) / IIII (h)abuit co<n=M>iugem C/astorinam annis / VIII me(n)s(ibus) III die(bus) VI (h)oras(!) / IIII et filium Stercorium / qui vixit an(nis) III me(n)s(ibus) VII di/e(bus) X (h)or(as) VI supravixit pater / die(bus) XLVII posuit tit<u=O>lum / Cas(torina) co<m=N>p(ari) ca(rissimo) suo

My reading, in which I have inserted the stops that I see between words but have not attempted to expand the abbreviations, is:

D M / Fla · Augustalis · cen · / leg · pri · It · Moes · milita/vit · annis [?] X · mes · VI · die · / XII · ora · IIII · vixit · annis / XLI · mes · VII · die · XV · oras / IIII · abuit · comiugem · C/astorinam · annis / VIIII · mes · III · die · VI · ora / IIII · et · filium · Stercoriu / qui · vixit · an · III · mes · VII · di/e X · or · VI · supra · vixit · pater / die · XLVII · posuit · titolum / Cas · con · p · ca · suo

Comparing the two readings will reveal some minor differences and some that are more serious. I see the years (as opposed to the months, days and hours) of the marriage between Augustalis and his wife as being nine, not eight, and my reading of the last line also differs. On this last point, I am supported by Franzoni, who expands the line to read Cas(torina) con(uigi) p(atri) ca(rissimo) suo (C. Franzoni, Habitus atque habitudo militis: Monumenti funerari di militari nello Cisalpina Romana, Rome 1987, no. 21 (pp. 37-38)).

The major differences, however, are in the title of his legion and in his length of service. EDCS renders the title of the legion as It[alica]es. As I see it, there is a clear stop after It and the word Moes following it is also clear. This would reflect the long association of the legion with Moesia and its full title, according to this inscription would be, perhaps, legio I Italica Moesiaca (suggested in G. Lettich, Itinerari epigrafica Aquileiesi, Trieste 2003, no. 103 (p. 93)). I do not know if there is any other evidence of this title; a search for ‘Italica Moes’ in EDCS produced no results.

As to Augustalis’ length of service, it seems clear that the figure for the number of years is X, not V (also read by Lettich, as is nine years for the length of the marriage). This on its own would have him enlisting at the age of 31, which is leaving it rather late, and rising to the rank of centurion within ten years, which is somewhat short a period but not unprecedented. Perhaps his age and maturity may have aided his promotion. However, there appears to be something preceding the ‘X’, although I am not sure what it is; it may be no more than damage to the stone. If it is a number, it is not a ‘I’, which would shorten Augustalis’ service, but it could just be a small ‘X’, inserted to correct an omission by the stonecutter. This would mean that Augustalis enlisted at a more normal age of 21 and would allow for his promotion to centurion after, say, 15 or 16 years. Close inspection of the stone itself might resolve this difficulty. Is anyone going near Aquileia in the near future?

These are the images that I used to reach the conclusions set out above:
http://www.ubi-erat-lupa.org/imagelink/i...p?Nr=14846
http://www.ubi-erat-lupa.org/imagelink/i...4846&Img=4
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
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#2
Quote:In his article ‘Backbone of the legions’ in Ancient Warfare Special Issue 2010, Duncan Campbell drew attention to the tombstone of the centurion Flavius Augustalis (CIL V, 914)
I appreciate it that someone has read my article, but I'm afraid I cannot take credit for the illustrations and the accompanying captions (except on p. 14, which is my photo and, consequently, my caption).

Quote:As I see it, there is a clear stop after It and the word Moes following it is also clear. This would reflect the long association of the legion with Moesia and its full title, according to this inscription would be, perhaps, legio I Italica Moesiaca. I do not know if there is any other evidence of this title; a search for ‘Italica Moes’ in EDCS produced no results.
Agreed. This is perfectly clear from the Lupa photograph (which, presumably, earlier commentators could not take advantage of). The First Italica is called Legio Moesiaca on Dessau (ILS) 2045, which gives a clear precedent.

Quote:As to Augustalis’ length of service, it seems clear that the figure for the number of years is X, not V ... However, there appears to be something preceding the ‘X’, although I am not sure what it is; it may be no more than damage to the stone. If it is a number, it is not a ‘I’, which would shorten Augustalis’ service, but it could just be a small ‘X’, inserted to correct an omission by the stonecutter. This would mean that Augustalis enlisted at a more normal age of 21 and would allow for his promotion to centurion after, say, 15 or 16 years. Close inspection of the stone itself might resolve this difficulty. Is anyone going near Aquileia in the near future?
Autopsy is unlikely to give a better reading than the excellent Lupa photo, which does indeed seem to show "MILITAVIT ANNIS XX ...".
posted by Duncan B Campbell
https://ninth-legion.blogspot.com/
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#3
I am grateful to Duncan Campbell for his comments on the reading of this inscription. I now come to the other aspects of the tombstone that I find interesting.

1. The relief shows Augustalis on the right, wearing a cloak fastened with a crossbow brooch and a Pannonian cap. His left hand rests on his vitis and his right on the right-hand shoulder of his son. Stercorius is holding a bird. Standing on the left, separated from father and son by a rearing horse, is a young man wearing a short tunic and carrying a circular or oval shield on his back. Franzoni interprets him as being a calo, carrying Augustalis’ weapons and, I infer, minding his horse. This seems a reasonably straightforward interpretation but it troubles me slightly. In my limited experience, calones on tombstones are frequently depicted as smaller than their masters or their subordinate position is otherwise made clear. In this case, the figure on the left has virtually the same degree of prominence as Augustalis. Before reading Franzoni’s interpretation, I saw this figure as a soldier, possibly representing Augustalis himself as a young man or as a personification of his thwarted ambitions for his son. Is this entirely fanciful?

2. I interpret the fact that Augustalis’ period of service, life and marriage are all stated as ending four hours into the day as indicating that such events as birth, marriage and enlistment were deemed to have occurred at the beginning of the day in question, except no doubt when precision was required, e.g., to establish which of twins was the elder. The hours referred to in the inscription, however, would be completed hours. As I understand it, the Roman day could be either the natural day (dies naturalis), which ran from dawn until sunset, or the civic day (dies civilis), which applied to civic and religious affairs and which ran from midnight to midnight. The natural day was divided into twelve hours and the period from sunset to dawn was similarly divided. It follows, therefore, that the hours of a summer day were longer than those of the night and vice versa in winter. I am unsure whether the civic day was divided into twenty-four hours of equal length or whether there too daytime and night-time hours were variable. Which of these systems applied to the time of death of Augustalis and his son? My guess would be that it would be the civic day. This would mean that Augustalis died roughly between 4 and 5 a.m. and Stercorius roughly between 6 and 7 a.m. Alternatively, if the natural day applied and adopting Bill Thayer’s rule of thumb of adding the number of Roman hours to 5 a.m., Augustalis would have died between approximately 9 and 10 a.m. and Stercorius between approximately 11 a.m. and noon. What do members think?

3. Augustalis’ wife Castorina is referred to as coniunx. Apart from being a word, like our ‘spouse’, that can apply to both sexes, as it does in this inscription, is there any reason, legal or social, why this term should have been preferred to uxor?

4. I was a little puzzled by Franzoni’s use of pater in expanding Castorina’s dedication of the memorial con(iugi) p(atri) ca(rissimo) suo. After some reflection, I decided that this could be translated as ‘to her dearest husband (and) father’, ‘father’ being used either as a term of honour or to denote Augustalis’ position as head of the household (paterfamilias). Is this reasonable? If I am going to insert an unattested ‘and’, would it be better to expand p as p(atrique), rather than p(atri)?
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
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#4
Quote: 1. In this case, the figure on the left has virtually the same degree of prominence as Augustalis. Before reading Franzoni’s interpretation, I saw this figure as a soldier, possibly representing Augustalis himself as a young man or as a personification of his thwarted ambitions for his son. Is this entirely fanciful?
I agree, it could be possible to see the man on the left as Augustalis in his military appearance.
Btw, by 'short tunic' are you referring to te sleeves or the hem? If the latter, the tunic is by no means short.

Quote:2. Which of these systems applied to the time of death of Augustalis and his son? My guess would be that it would be the civic day. This would mean that Augustalis died roughly between 4 and 5 a.m. and Stercorius roughly between 6 and 7 a.m. Alternatively, if the natural day applied and adopting Bill Thayer’s rule of thumb of adding the number of Roman hours to 5 a.m., Augustalis would have died between approximately 9 and 10 a.m. and Stercorius between approximately 11 a.m. and noon. What do members think?
How can we distinguish between either system? Anyway, the 'time registration' seems extremely precise? Do we know of any other examples?

Quote:4. I was a little puzzled by Franzoni’s use of pater in expanding Castorina’s dedication of the memorial con(iugi) p(atri) ca(rissimo) suo. After some reflection, I decided that this could be translated as ‘to her dearest husband (and) father’, ‘father’ being used either as a term of honour or to denote Augustalis’ position as head of the household (paterfamilias). Is this reasonable? If I am going to insert an unattested ‘and’, would it be better to expand p as p(atrique), rather than p(atri)?
Could Castorina have been married to Stercorius instead, and refer to Augustalis as her 'father'?
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
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#5
Quote:Btw, by 'short tunic' are you referring to te sleeves or the hem? If the latter, the tunic is by no means short.
I take your point. I meant that it ended above the knee.

Quote:Could Castorina have been married to Stercorius instead, and refer to Augustalis as her 'father'?
I don't think so. Lines 7 & 8 read (h)abuit co<n=M>iugem C/astorinam, 'he had a wife, Castorina'. Stercorius comes in in line 10 et filium Stercoriu(m), 'and a son, Stercorius', still governed by (h)abuit. So I would say that Castorina must be Augustalis' wife.
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
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#6
Quote:On this last point, I am supported by Franzoni, who expands the line to read Cas(torina) con(uigi) p(atri) ca(rissimo) suo (C. Franzoni, Habitus atque habitudo militis: Monumenti funerari di militari nello Cisalpina Romana, Rome 1987, no. 21, pp. 37-38).
I'm afraid I don't like Franzoni's expansion. In a tombstone erected for a man by his spouse, we'd expect the standard "dutiful wife" final line. In my opinion, this is exactly what we get here: CAS(torina) CON(iuge) P(ientissima) CA(rissima) SUO, meaning "(erected) by Castorina, his most dutiful and beloved wife".
posted by Duncan B Campbell
https://ninth-legion.blogspot.com/
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#7
Quote:In my opinion, this is exactly what we get here: CAS(torina) CON(iuge) P(ientissima) CA(rissima) SUO, meaning "(erected) by Castorina, his most dutiful and beloved wife".
This is where I get into trouble. Suo is masculine (or neuter) dative or ablative. Should it not relate to a masculine (or neuter) noun? For the above reading to be correct, should the possessive pronoun not be sua?
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
Reply
#8
Quote:For the above reading to be correct, should the possessive pronoun not be sua?
We do not always find funerary monuments inscribed with perfect Latin. Errare humanum etcetera?
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
Reply
#9
Quote:For the above reading to be correct, should the possessive pronoun not be sua?
Oops, tripped me up, too! :oops:

CAS(torina) CON(iugi) P(ientissimo) CA(rissimo) SUO, meaning "Castorina (erected this) for her most dutiful and beloved husband"!
posted by Duncan B Campbell
https://ninth-legion.blogspot.com/
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#10
Quote:CAS(torina) CON(iugi) P(ientissimo) CA(rissimo) SUO, meaning "Castorina (erected this) for her most dutiful and beloved husband"!
I'll buy that!
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
Reply


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