The Inscription of Fabianus

The Inscription of Fabianus

INSCRIPTION DETAILS

Findspot and Place of Origin

Country
Italy
Region
Veneto
Ancient Region
Regio X Venetia et Histria
City
Concordia Sagittaria
Ancient City

Chronology

Date of the inscription

Date
First Half of the III Century AD.
Dating criteria
palaeography, onomastics, artistic style

Autopsy

Institution
Location within museum
set into the wall of the left nave
Date of observation
2024

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Type
Frontal panel of the sarcophagus.
Material(s)
Limestone.
Execution
Inscribed.
Dimensions
46 × 174 cm
Epigraphic Field
39 × 133 cm
Letters Height
6-7.5 cm

Palaeographic comment

Dextrograde direction, horizontal orientation, square module, and regular ductus; centered layout.

Inscribed front panel of a limestone sarcophagus
The iscription of Fabianus. Museo Nazionale Concordiese, Portogruaro; photo by Ortolf Harl (Ubi Erat Lupa). Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture - Regional Directorate of National Museums of Veneto. Any commercial or for-profit use of these images is strictly prohibited and must be subject to a specific authorization request to the Regional Directorate of National Museums of Veneto.

INSCRIPTION

INTERPRETATIVE TRANSCRIPTION

Q(uinto) Fabio Q(uinti) f(ilio) Fabiano. Turrania Sestia, filio piissimo

TRANSLATION

To Quintus Fabius Fabianus, son of Quintus. Turrania Sestia, to (her) most pious son.

COMMENTARY

The tria nomina and the patronymic represent the antiquity of the burial and the ingenuus status of the deceased. Another element testifying to the chronological priority of this ark compared to the late antique ones is the depth at which it was found, which made access difficult (Bertolini 1875a, 115). Fortunately, it was finally removed from the necropolis and is currently preserved in the Museo Nazionale Concordiese di Portogruaro.

Along with those of Fabia Paulina and Firmina, the sarcophagus of Fabianus represents one of the oldest inhumation burials in the entire necropolis. This group represents an important period of historical transition where the funerary rite of incineration began to be progressively abandoned due to the spread of mystery cults and the fashion for Oriental sarcophagi in the Hadrianic period (Croce Da Villa 2001b, 202). However, the first sarcophagi should likely be dated to the Severan age, or at least not before the late Antonine period.

The same Turrania Sestia was also mentioned on a now-lost inscription, where the mother buried another son, Quintus Fabius Caemianus (CIL V 1926). These two inscriptions commissioned by Sestia seem to be the earliest references to the presence of the gens Turrania in Concordia. In a later period, this gentilicium is found in the inscription commissioned by Turranius Honoratus, dedicated to his wife Aurelia Iovina. The writer Tirranio/Turranio Rufino, born in Concordia, also seems to have come from this family (Rohrbacher 2002, 93).

PEOPLE

Quintus Fabius Fabianus

PRAENOMEN
Quintus
NOMEN
Fabius
COGNOMEN
Fabianus
GENS
Fabia
ORIGIN (of the name Fabianus)
latin
GENDER
male
OCCUPATION
civilian
ROLE
deceased
RELATIONSHIP
son (→ Turrania Sestia)

Turrania Sestia

NOMEN
Turrania
COGNOMEN
Sestia
NOMEN
Turrania
ORIGIN (of the name Sestia)
latin
GENDER
female
OCCUPATION
civilian
ROLE
dedicator
RELATIONSHIP
mother (→ Quintus Fabius Fabianus)

Bibliography

Bertolini 1875a, 115, n. 57.
Bertolini 1877, 29, n. 13.
CIL V 8692
Lettich 1994, 265-266, n. 183.
EDR
EDR097852
Author of the record:
Damiana Baldassarra
Date:
19-11-2007