reference information

N.B. More details can be found on the decoding leaflet.

basic framework for tombstone inscriptions

Ligatures (joined letters), along with reversed letters and other shortening features, are common on inscriptions after the 1st Century AD.

D M
Dis Manibus = to the Underworld gods.

his or her name (1st two names if a Roman citizen)

- F
- Filius = son of -

his voting-tribe
his 3rd name if he is a Roman citizen
his birthplace
army rank, profession or status
his legion, cavalry regiment or squadron

VIX AN -
Vixit Annos - = he/she lived for - years

STIP -
Stipendiorum - = - years of paid service

H F C
Heres Faciendum Curavit = the heir had [the stone] made
OR
the heirs are mentioned by name + F C

H S E
Hic Situs/Sita Est = Here he/she lies.

LIST A: names

Citizens had a praenomen (the same as their father's), a nomen and a cognomen. Women usually had a praenomen followed by some form of their father's name. On marriage they took their husband's name.

All free subjects gained Roman citizenship in the 3rd Century so the use of 3 names became irrelevant.

NB Freedmen and Freedwomen would be given the praenomen and nomen of their ex-master when they were freed.

(praenomina)
G   =    Gaius
I   =    Iulius
L    =    Lucius    

full names

Antigonus
Gaius Calpurnius Receptus
Gaius Tiberinus
Julius Vitalis
Lucius Ulpius Sestius
Lucius Vitellius Tancinus
Magnus

names of women

Calpurnia = female version of Calpurnius
Mercatilla
Rusonia Aventina
Trifosa = this Greek name means 'Delicious' : probably her only name (cognomen) when she was a slave.

LIST B voting-tribe, birthplace

Civis / Cives    =    citizen or tribesman/ tribeswoman

Hispanus Cauriensis = of Caurium in Spain
Mediomatricae  =  of Metz      
Natione Belga = from the Belgic tribeNicopoli = from Nicopolis
Sergia Tribu    =    from the Sergian voting-tribe

LIST C rank, status or profession

ALUMNA    =    foster-daughter
CIVIS = citizen
C.R. = Roman Citizens
CONIUNX    =   wife
EMERITUS    =    veteran, retired soldier
EQVES    =    cavalryman
FABRICIEnSIS    =  armourer
F, FIL, FILIUS    =    son
F, FIL, FILIA    =    daughter
HERES = heir
LIBERTUS/A   =    freedman/woman
SACERDOS DEAE SULIS    =    priest of the goddess Sulis Minerva

LIST D Legion or Regiment

Legion     LEGIO
Several legions were given honorary names:

II AVG (AVGVSTA)     =    2nd Augustan
VI VICTRIX    =    6th Victorious
XXVV (VALERIA VICTRIX)    =    20th Courageous and Victorious named after the Boudican rebellion of 60-61 A.D.


Cavalry Regiment    ALA

VETTONUM    =    squadron of Vettones, C.R. = all members granted Roman citizenship by the Emperor Vespasian, presumably for their part in the invasion of Britain in 43 A.D.

LIST E numbers

V      =    5
VI     =    6
X      =    10
XI     =    11
XV    =    15
XX    =    20
XL    =    40
L      =    50
LX    =    60

N.B. More details can be found on the decoding leaflet.

links to other pages

Religious inscriptions

Public information, Publicity and Propaganda

Most Roman tombstones follow a set pattern, so if you are not put off by abbreviations or words spilling over from one line to the next, you can decipher them quite easily.
Tombstone decoding leaflet.
Worksheets on individual stones
Line-drawings.

INDEX PAGE

This short video shows you how to interpret tombstone inscriptions with the aid of the Tombstone Decoding leaflet. The fictitious stone on the decoder is quite a complicated one: most do not have all this information. The decoder contains everything you need to translate all the tombstones in the museum at Bath.

By studying tombstone inscriptions we can get to know individuals as well as learn about the movement of troops around the Roman Empire.


Inscriptions to translate

You can now use your knowledge to find out more about the eleven individuals commemorated on this page, and if you wish you can refer to the side bar on the left for help. More details can be found on the decoding leaflet.
The stones are grouped according to where they can be found in the museum.

MEET THE ROMANS

The first funerary monument to be seen in the Roman Baths museum no longer has its inscription - just the depiction of the dead man.You might like to download the picture and use it as the top part of an inscription you can create yourself.
T1.

The figure is wearing a toga, has a beard and is holding a scroll. He would have been an educated and wealthy Romano-British man.

The figure, carved in high relief, is in a little niche and there is a dolphin above it. Perhaps this is some sort of symbol of the soul's journey to the after-life, since it is found on other tombstones.

LIFE AND DEATH IN AQUAE SULIS
NB You can scroll to the top of the page to refer to the basic framework for each inscription.

Although the top part of this carving is missing, you should be able to tell Vitellius Tancinus' rank in the army! Notice that his father does not have a Roman name. Remember that the name of his father is inserted before his own 3rd name.
(C R in line 6 shows that his regiment had all been awarded Roman citizenship)

T2.

L[ucius] VITELLIVS
see List A

MANTAI F[ilius]

TANCINUS

CIVES HISP[anus] CAVRIE[n]SIS
see List B

EQ[ues]
see List C

ALAE VETTONUM C. R.
see List D

ANN[orum] XXXXVI
see List D

STIP[endiorum] XXVI
see List E

H[ic] S[itus] E[st]

Do you think the person riding the horse or the poor unfortunate being trampled beneath its hooves represents Vitellius Tancinus?

The next stone gives evidence of something similar to a Trades Union: his funeral expenses had been paid by the Guild of Armourers. Part of the salary of all soldiers was automatically paid into a burial fund.
T3
IULIUS VITALIS see List A

FABRICIE[n]SIS see List C

LEG[ionis] XX V V see List D

STIPENDIORUM IX see List E and perhaps the standard framework

AN[n]OR[um] XXIX see List E

NATIONE BELGA see List B

EX COLEGIO FABRICE[nsium] ELATUS
an unusual detail: erected by the Guild of Armourers.

H[ic] S[itus] E[st]

The top section of this inscription is damaged so we do not know the full details of his name.
T4.
SER[gia tribu]
see List B

A[nt]IGONUS NIC[opoli]
see Lists A & B

EMERITUS EX LEG[ione] XX
see Lists C & D

AN[norum] XLV
see List E

H[ic] S[itus] E[st]

G[aius] TIBERINUS H[eres] F[aciendum] C[uravit]

There is no inscription with this carving. You might like to download the picture and use it as the top part of an inscription you can create yourself.
T5.

The figure is riding a horse so he was an EQUES, or cavalryman.

There is no inscription with this carving. You might like to download the picture and use it as part of an inscription you can create yourself.
T6.

The figure is wearing a tunic and a short cloak and he is holding a scroll and some kind of stick. This suggests that he was a Standard-Bearer - probably an Imaginifer who carried a standard portraying the image of the Emperor.

Look very carefully at the age of the person commemorated here. It is given very specifically in years, months and days.
T7.
D[is] M[anibus]

MERCATILLA

MAGNI L[iberta] ALUMNA see List C

VIXIT AN[num] I M[enses] VI D[ies] XII see List E


What do this stone and stone 11 tell us about the relationships between Roman masters and their female slaves? A master could not marry a slave so he would need to make her a freedwoman first. If a child was born a slave and then freed while still a baby, what might be her relationship with the master?

What does this stone tell us about the status of women?
T8.
RUSONIAE AVENT[i]NAE
see List A - but note the different word-endings = 'To Rusonia Aventina'

C[ivi] MEDIOMATRIC[ae]
see List B

AN[norum] LVIII
see List E

H[ic] S[ita] E[st]
the second word ends with 'a' because she is female

L[ucius] ULPIUS SESTIUS H[eres] F[aciendum] C[uravit]



There is no inscription with this carving, but it probably came from a tomb.
T9.

You might like to download the picture and use it to accompany an inscription you can create yourself.

This lady has an elaborate hairstyle which was fashionable in the late 1st Century AD when the Flavian emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian were in power.

Both this lady and Rusonia must have had status and wealth, and people who cared enough about them to make them a substantial memorial.

T10.
This section of the Roman Baths Museum also has the lead lining of a coffin, along with its skeleton. Scientific analysis of the remains proves that the man was around 45 years old and came from Syria, and the fact that his body was buried facing almost East (rather than cremated with the ashes buried), might suggest that he was a Christian.

WORSHIPPING THE GODS

This beautifully-carved stone might surprise people who think that all Romans died at quite a young age! A dedication stone from another priest at the temple of Sulis Minerva has also been preserved and you can see this in the Religious inscriptions section.
T11.

D[is] M[anibus]

G[aius] CALPURNIUS RECEPTUS see List A

SACERDOS DEAE SULIS see List C

VIXIT AN[nos] LXXV see List E

CALPURNIA TRIFOSA see List A

LIBERT[a] CONIUNX see List C

F[aciendum] C[uravit]

Notice that this stone looks quite like an altar - perhaps this is because Calpurnius Receptus was a priest.

It is interesting to speculate on the relationship between Calpurnius Receptus and the slave he freed and then married - particularly considering what her slave-name means!