The Inscription of Manio
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
- Type
- Front panel of the sarcophagus.
- Material(s)
- Limestone.
- Execution
- Inscribed.
- Dimensions
- 60 × 143 cm
- Epigraphic Field
- 60 × 143 cm
- Letters Height
- 5-7 cm
Palaeographic comment
Dextrorse direction, horizontal alignment, vertical module, irregular ductus.
INSCRIPTION
INTERPRETATIVE TRANSCRIPTION
Arca Manioni, milete (!), <d>e nume
=
ro Bruc⸢t⸣er<or>um et si quis eam
aperuerit, ut mani (!) precidantur (!)
aut in fesco (!) det auri pondo doa (!).
cons(ulibus) n(ostris) Arcadio
et <H>onorio (Au)g(u)st(i)s.
TRANSLATION
The arca of Manio, a soldier of the numerus of the Bructeri; and should anyone open it, let his hands be cut off, or let him pay two pounds of gold to the fiscus.
During the consulship of our lords Arcadius and Honorius Augusti.
PEOPLE
Manio
- COGNOMEN
- Manio
- ORIGIN (of the name Manio)
- germanic
- GENDER
- male
- OCCUPATION
- soldier
- RANK
- miles
- NUMERUS
- Bructeri
- ROLE
- deceased
Bibliography
| Bertolini 1875a, 109, n. 47. |
| Bertolini 1875b, 122, n. 17. |
| CIL V 8768 |
| ILCV 545 |
| Hoffmann 1963, 48, n. 34. |
| Lettich 1983, 92-93, n. 54. |
- EDR
-
EDR097916
- Author of the record:
- Damiana Baldassarra
- Date:
- 29-11-2007
COMMENTARY
Manio was a miles of the Bructeri. The auxilium palatinum of the Bructeri is recorded as being stationed in Gaul (ND occ. 5, 187; 7, 68).
The inscription does not specify the beneficiary of this sarcophagus.
This is the only Latin inscription on a sarcophagus within the necropolis to provide a date, corresponding to the joint consulship of Arcadius and Honorius, the sons of Theodosius. They served as consuls together in 394, 396, and 402 AD.
The replacement of certain i letters with e, as in the case of milete instead of militi, likely reflects the pronunciation of the period, during which the Latin short i progressively opened until it became an e.