The Inscription of Ianuarinus

The Inscription of Ianuarinus

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
Mid-Fourth Century A.D.
Dating criteria
palaeography, onomastics

Autopsy

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

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Type
Lateral panel of the sarcophagus.
Material(s)
Limestone.
Execution
Inscribed.
Dimensions
46 × 35 cm
Epigraphic Field
46 × 35 cm
Letters Height
5 cm

Palaeographic comment

Dextrorse direction, horizontal alignment, vertical module, irregular ductus.

Inscribed front panel of a limestone sarcophagus
The iscription of Ianuarinus. Photograph courtesy of the 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

Fl(avius) Ianuarinus, vet(eranus), de numero Mattia = cor(um) iụnior(um), hic posi = tus est. Si quis volue = rit sep̣ulcṛum eius ape = re fisco argen = ti lib(ras) X.

TRANSLATION

Flavius Ianuarinus, a veteran of the numerus of the Mattiaci iuniores, is laid here.

Should anyone wish to open his sepulchre, he shall pay ten (Roman) pounds of silver to the fiscus.

COMMENTARY

Flavius Ianuarinus was a veteran of the Mattiaci iuniores. He chose not to specify his military rank and perhaps remained a miles (an ordinary soldier) throughout his career. The auxilium palatinum of the Mattiaci iuniores is recorded as being deployed at times in Gaul (ND occ. 5, 167; 7, 64) and at others in the East (ND or. 6, 53).

The inscription does not specify the beneficiary of this sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus of Ianuarinus was located very close to the northern section of the burial ground. A little further south was the burial of Flavius Dassiolus, another member of the Mattiaci iuniores. Further north, however, was the arca of a member of the Mattiaci seniores, Flavius Agustus, the only burial in the northern section of the necropolis that can be identified with certainty as belonging to a soldier.

The arrangement of the archae suggests that the Mattiaci (both iuniores and seniores) were the first numeri to be permanently stationed in Concordia. Conversely, the Batavi, whose burials are concentrated near the southern edge, likely reached the colony at a later stage, characterized by a more massive military presence that led to the creation of distinct burial areas for the various units.

PEOPLE

Flavius Ianuarinus

NOMEN
Flavius
COGNOMEN
Ianuarinus
GENS
Flavia
ORIGIN (of the name Ianuarinus)
latin
GENDER
male
OCCUPATION
soldier
RANK
veteranus
NUMERUS
Mattiaci Iuniores
ROLE
deceased

Bibliography

Bertolini 1874a, 23, n. 6.
Bertolini 1874b, 289, n. 10.
CIL V 8751
ILCV 556
Hoffmann 1963, 45, n. 29.
Lettich 1983, 89, n. 49.
EDR
EDR097762
Author of the record:
Damiana Baldassarra
Date:
26-11-2007