Chronology of the Inscriptions

Dated Inscriptions

Of all the inscriptions in the Perulli collection, only two of the Latin ones can be precisely dated. The first, commissioned in honour of Emperor Julian,[1] dates to the years immediately following 363 A.D.[2] The second inscription belonged to the soldier Manius[3] and bears a consular date corresponding to the consulships of Honorius and Arcadius. It can therefore be traced back to 394, 396 or 402 A.D.[4]

However, among the Greek inscriptions there are two precise dates based on the Seleucid era which can be accurately translated and correspond to 409/410 and 426/427 A.D.[5] Another arcae can be dated to 418/419 or 433/434 A.D.[6] Most of these individuals spoke Greek and came from the Syrian city of Apamea,[7] probably for commercial purposes.[8] The burials of the Eastern merchants are the most recent: the necropolis was abandoned at the beginning of the 5th century.[9]

Comminatory Formulae and Monetary Fines

In many inscriptions a comminatory formula is present, which was intended as a deterrent for whoever wanted to violet the tomb, usually establishing a monetary fine and in some cases a physical punishment. An example is the inscription of Flavius Victurinus, where it is written "qui eam arcam / aperire voluerit iure ei ma/nus precidentur (praecidetur) aut fiscus / inferat auri libbra una." ("whoever will want to open this sarcophagus, their hand will be cut off unless he will pay one roman pound to the fiscus").[10] The monetary fines provide valuable information that enables us to date the respective tomb. Fines in sestertii are typical of the early imperial period. In the Diocletian era, folles appeared as the new currency,[11] but they fell into disuse in the second half of the 4th century, with the last official record dating back to 363 AD.[12] Solidi, on the other hand, became widespread in the Constantinian era.[13] Later inscriptions indicate penalties in pounds of silver or gold, which provided a more stable value parameter than the circulating currency, characterised above all in the 4th century by marked irregularities in metal content.[14]

Onomastic Evidence

The names of the deceased allow us also to estimate the date of the inscriptions to a certain extent. During the late Republic and early empire, it was common for men born already free (ingenui) or manumitted slaves (liberti) to have names composed by three or more onomastic elements, an anthroponomy known as tria nomina.[15] The praenomen was the first name, and the firstborn son usually inherited it from its father. The nomen represented the 'extended family', known as gens, of the person.[16] The cognomen was the third name and usually it was useful to represent a specific family of a larger gens.[17]

Although there are sporadic examples of tria nomina within the necropolis,[18] even the earliest tombs, which appeared alongside the adoption of burial practices in the 3rd century A.D., demonstrate a decline in the use of praenomina and a tendency towards duo nomina (two names).

Initially, there were various names, such as the Enni[19] and the Fabii,[20] as well as some of local origin, such as the Cicrii.[21]

These family names were subsequently replaced by imperial nomina. Starting from the Constitutio Antonina, when a person obtained citizenship, he also received the nomen Aurelius. However, when Constantine and his family rose to power, Flavius became the name given to the new citizens, mostly in the Western Empire. In the Eastern Empire nomen Αὐρ(ήλιος) was still the most common, as can be seen from the names of Greek-speaking individuals originating from Apamea.

Paleographic Analysis

Another valuable method of dating inscriptions is paleographic analysis of letterforms. The earliest inscriptions, such as the one from the sarcophagus of Firmina,[22] feature square-shaped letters. From the fourth century onwards, there is a gradual yet consistent lateral compression of the letters, resulting in increasingly vertical proportions. From the mid-fourth century onwards, the evolution of the letters F and G can be traced in several inscriptions, including that of Julian.

The F develops an additional crossbar resting on the baseline, making it difficult to distinguish from the E, while the G loses its vertical stem and its tail extends below the baseline.

Towards the end of the fourth century, the A with a broken crossbar appears. Initially, it alternates with the A characterised by the regular horizontal stroke, but by the beginning of the fifth century, it has completely replaced the earlier form, as evidenced in the Victurus inscription.[23]