Understanding Roman Inscriptions/Lawrence Keppie
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· UNDERSTANDING · ROMAN INSCRIPTIONS · UNDERSTANDING · ROMAN INSCRIPTIONS • LAWRENCE KEPPIE • The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore © Lawrence Keppie, 1991 All rights reserved First published in the United States of America, 1991, by The Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218–4319 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Keppie, L.J.F. Understanding Roman inscriptions/Lawrence Keppie. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8018-4322-7 (Print Edition). —ISBN 0-8018-4352-9 (pbk.) 1. Inscriptions, Latin. I. Title. CN510.K46 1991 980–dc20 91–19853 CIP A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0-203-08467-5 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-22462-0 (Glassbook Format) CONTENTS List of illustrations 6 13 Gravestones and tomb monuments 98 Acknowledgements 8 14 Trade, economy and the 1 Introduction 9 business world 110 2 The stonecutter and his craft 12 15 Populusque Romanus 116 3 Reading Roman inscriptions 17 16 Christianity 119 4 Dating Roman inscriptions 25 17 The Later Roman Empire 125 5 The survival of Roman inscriptions 30 18 Conclusion: the value of Roman inscriptions 131 6 Recording and publication 36 Appendices: 7 The emperor 42 1 Emperors and dates 136 2 Common abbreviations 138 8 Local government and society 52 3 Roman voting-tribes 140 4 Contents of CIL volumes 140 5 Epigraphic conventions 140 9 The roads that led to Rome 60 Footnotes 141 10 Administration of an empire 70 11 The army and the frontiers 80 Bibliography 148 12 Temples and altars to the gods 91 Index 154 ILLUSTRATIONS Cover: Statue base of Aulus Platorius 23 Seating in the Large Theatre, Pompeii 53 Nepos 24 Election ‘notice’, Pompeii 54 1 Papyrus sheet from Oxyrhynchus, Egypt 13 25 Pillar in the temple-precinct of Apollo, Pompeii 55 2 Slab advertising stone-cutting services 14 26 Arch of the Sergii, Pula, Yugoslavia 56 3 Bronze letters on a marble basin, Pompeii 16 27 Arch of Mazaeus and Mithridates, 4 ‘Roman capitals’, late first century AD 18 Ephesus, Turkey 56 5 Gravestone in the form of an altar 22 28 Slab advertising baths, Pompeii 57 6 The Pantheon, Rome 23 29 Dedication slab at the shrine of the 7 Column of Antoninus Pius 26 Augustales, Herculaneum, Italy 58 8 A lead waterpipe from Chester 27 30 Map of Italy, showing the road system 61 9 A building record from Hotbank 31 Arch of Trajan, Benevento, Italy 62 milecastle, Hadrian’s Wall 27 32 Pons Fabricius, over the Tiber, Rome 63 10 Statue base from Ankara, Turkey 29 33 Bridge over the Cendere Çay, Turkey 64 11 The barracks at Birdoswald fort, 34 Bronze plaque once attached to an Hadrian’s Wall 31 offering at a shrine 64 12 Inscribed stones used in a cathedral 35 Milestone from the Via Traiana 65 bell-tower, Benevento, Italy 32 36 Map of the Roman Empire showing 13 Graveslab, cut in half, used in the road system 66 Trieste cathedral, Italy 33 37 Trajan’s road at the Iron Gates, Yugoslavia 67 14 Re-erected tomb monuments, 38 Milestone in situ, near Petra, Jordan 68 Šempeter, Yugoslavia 35 39 Map of the Roman Empire showing 15 Gravestones being examined by scholars 41 imperial and senatorial provinces 71 16 Statue base from Ostia, Italy 43 40 Statue base reporting the career of 17 Arch of Titus, Rome 45 Aulus Platorius Nepos 73 18 Inscribed panel from the Arch of 41 The Library of Celsus, Ephesus, Turkey 74 Claudius, Rome 46 42 Statue-bases flanking the steps to the 19 Restored text from the Arch of Claudius 47 Library of Celsus 75 20 Restored text of a commemorative slab, 43 Slab reporting the dedication of a Tiberieum 76 York 48 44 Tomb of the procurator Julius 21 Arch of Severus, Rome 49 Classicianus, London 77 22 Close-up of inscription on the Arch 45 Slab recording the construction of of Severus 50 an amphitheatre, Alba Fucens, Italy 78 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 46 Gravestone of Marcus Favonius Facilis, 63 Tomb of Caecilia Metella, Via Appia, a centurion, Colchester, England 82 Rome 102 47 Tomb monument of Longinus Biarta 83 64 Tomb of the Plautii, near Tivoli, Italy 103 48 Gravestones of soldiers of the 65 Pyramid of Cestius, Rome 104 German bodyguard 86 66 Sarcophagus commemorating a baby 49 Panel from the statue base of Gaius and her parents, Manastirine, Solin, Gavius Silvanus, decorated for Yugoslavia 106 military service in Britain 87 67 Mosaic panel, over a tomb chamber 50 Bronze catapult plate, with emblems at Solin, Yugoslavia 108 of the legion 88 68 Bronze corn-measure 111 51 Bronze shield boss, showing emblems 69 Tomb of the merchant Flavius Zeuxis 112 and standards 89 70 Mosaic floor, Ostia, Italy 113 52 Dedication on a rock-face at Trencin, 71 Arch of the Argentarii, Rome 114 Czechoslovakia 89 72 Texts inscribed on a leg of the Colossus 53 Monument to Lucius Poblicius, of Memnon, near Thebes, Egypt 117 reconstructed from fragments, 73 Stone gaming-board from the Cologne, Germany 90 catacombs, Rome 120 54 Temple of Roma and Augustus, 74 Sarcophagus from the Christian Pula, Yugoslavia 92 basilica at Manastirine, Solin, 55 Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, Rome 92 Yugoslavia 121 56 Altar erected to the protecting 75 A selection of Christian texts 122 goddess of Bordeaux 94 76 Arepo-Sator word square on 57 A scene of soldiers sacrificing at an wall-plaster, Cirencester, England 124 altar, on a ‘distance slab’ from 77 Panels giving emperors’ response to Bridgeness, Scotland 95 petition, Ephesus, Turkey 126 58 Doorway to Temple of Isis, Pompeii 96 78 Temple of Hadrian, Ephesus 127 59 Replicas of altars to Mithras, at 79 Bronze dice-dispenser from a a Mithraeum beside Carrawburgh villa in Germany 129 fort, Hadrian’s Wall 96 80 Reused statue base, Rome 130 60 Slab from the tomb of Sextus 81 The Res Gestae of Augustus, Ankara, Aemilius Baro, Rome 99 Turkey 132 61 Burial plots at Aquileia, Italy 99 82 The Duke of Gloucester unveiling an 62 ‘Street of the Tombs’ outside the inscribed plaque at the Legionary Herculaneum Gate, Pompeii 101 Museum, Caerleon, Gwent 133 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to many friends and colleagues for Princeton, New Jersey, where the author enjoyed a their help on detailed points. In the first instance I happy and fruitful semester in the spring of 1989. must thank Dr Roger Tomlin for suggesting my During preparation of the book, I visited sites and name to Batsford as author of a book on this topic. monuments in Italy, Germany, Israel, Austria, Among those who wittingly or unwittingly aided my France, Yugoslavia and Turkey. I enjoyed the researches, I mention Professor Michael Crawford hospitality of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum, (University College, London); Mr P.R.Jeffreys- Bonn, the Landesmuseum and Römisch- Powell (University of Glasgow); Dr Helen Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz, and at Whitehouse (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford); Dr various times had financial support from the John Patterson (Magdalene College, Cambridge); University of Glasgow, the Johannes Gutenberg the late Dr Jaroslav Šašel (Slovenian Academy of Universität Mainz, the British Academy, the the Sciences); Miss Lindsay Allason-Jones (Museum Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland and of Antiquities, Newcastle); Dr K.-V.Decker the Haverfield Trust. (Landesmuseum, Mainz); Professor Benjamin Isaac Dr Graham Webster and Mr Peter Kemmis Betty (University of Tel Aviv); Dr David French (British made valuable editorial suggestions. The Institute of Archaeology, Ankara); Dr Emilio Marin photographs were taken and the line-illustrations (Archaeological Museum, Split); Mr Richard Brewer prepared by the author, except where acknowledged (National Museum of Wales); Mr Michael Dobson separately. For permission to reproduce (University of Exeter); Dr D.J.Breeze (Historic photographs, author and publishers are grateful to: Buildings and Monuments, Scotland); Dr Robert The Egypt Exploration Society (Fig. 1); Museum of Matijašic (Archaeological Museum, Pula); Professor Antiquities, Newcastle (Figs. 9, 51, 68); University Jane Crawford and Professor Bernard Frischer of Durham (Fig. 11); Colchester & Essex Museum (University of California); Professor A.A.Barrett (Fig. 46); Corinium Museum, Cirencester (Fig. 76); (University of British Columbia); Lt.-Col. National Museums of Scotland (Fig. 57); National A.A.Fairrie; Prof. E.B.Birley; Dr Pierre Valette; Ivor Museum of Wales (Fig. 82); Rheinisches Davidson and Margaret Robb. Landesmuseum, Bonn (Fig. 79); Rheinisches Dr Miriam Griffin kindly agreed to read a draft Bildarchiv, Köln (Figs. 47, 53); J.M.Arnaud and the version of the book, as did Miss Joyce Reynolds. In Musée d’Aquitaine, Bordeaux (Fig. 56); Museo particular I benefited from the latter’s unparalleled Archeologico, Aquileia (Fig. 40 and front cover). knowledge of epigraphic texts and secondary Arheološki Muzej, Split (Fig. 67); Museo literature; her sharp eye and commonsense saved Archeologico, Torino (Fig. 49); Institut français me from many errors. Those that may remain are d’Archéologie orientale (Fig. 72); Prof. A.R.Birley the responsibility of the author. It is a pleasure to (Fig. 21); Prof. D.Baatz (Fig. 50); Dr R.A.Knox (Fig. note that Miss Reynolds has recently completed a 13); Prof. S.S.Frere (Fig. 37) and Dr P.W.Freeman brief guidebook to Latin inscriptions, published by (Fig. 38). the British Museum. Hunterian Museum The text was written partly in Glasgow and University of Glasgow partly at the Institute for Advanced Study, October 1990 1 INTRODUCTION The value of inscriptions as historical material is so great that it can hardly be exaggerated. Apart from modern forgeries, which are rare and in general easily detected, they are contemporary and authoritative documents, whose text if legible cannot be corrupt, and whose cumulative value, in the hands of scholars accustomed to handling them in the mass, is astonishing.