An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York, Volume 1, Eburacum, Roman York. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1962.
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'Roman York: Inscription, Sculptures and Architectural Fragments', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York, Volume 1, Eburacum, Roman York( London, 1962), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/york/vol1/pp111-135 [accessed 5 October 2024].
'Roman York: Inscription, Sculptures and Architectural Fragments', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York, Volume 1, Eburacum, Roman York( London, 1962), British History Online, accessed October 5, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/york/vol1/pp111-135.
"Roman York: Inscription, Sculptures and Architectural Fragments". An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York, Volume 1, Eburacum, Roman York. (London, 1962), , British History Online. Web. 5 October 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/york/vol1/pp111-135.
In this section
Inscriptions, Sculptures and Architectural Fragments
Most of the entries in this section of the Inventory have been grouped according to the original purpose of the object described: Secular (non-sepulchral); Religious; Sepulchral. Here, with the addition of sections on Inscribed Small Objects, and Inscribed Pottery, will be found all the known Roman Inscriptions from York.
The entries that include inscriptions are arranged as follows: a description of the object bearing the inscription, and its provenance, with National Grid references where useful; if possible, an illustration in half-tone or line, or both; an expanded text and translation; brief comments and any references necessary for the essential points of textual questions, and, if available, a contemporary reference to the discovery and to relevant discussion of the find. Dimensions given are in the order width, height, thickness.
The inscription texts as given below have the expansions of abbreviations in round brackets while lost and restored letters are in square brackets; ligatured letters are indicated by a superscript bar and uncertain letters by a subscript dot; a diagonal bar represents the end of a line. The arrangement of Religious Inscriptions is according to the importance of the deity in the religious pantheon.
The principal epigraphic references cited are Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, VII (Berlin 1873), VII being the volume devoted to Britain, here abbreviated to CIL, and the supplement in Ephemeris Epigraphica, III, IV, VII, IX, abbreviated to EE, the Journal of Roman Studies, abbreviated to JRS, and H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae, abbreviated to ILS. The references unless otherwise stated are to item numbers; in JRS they are to page numbers. The Yorkshire Museum Handbook (1891) is abbreviated to YMH and the additions in the Yorkshire Philosophical Society's Reports to YPSR. Unless noted differently the objects here described are in the Yorkshire Museum.
Secular
Building Inscriptions
(1) Commemorative Tablet fragment (Plate 41), in magnesian limestone, comprising the middle part, 3⅓ ft. by 3¾ ft., of an inscription recording the building in stone of the S.E. gate of the fortress under Trajan. The fine lettering decreases in height from 6 ins. in the first line to 3½ ins. in the last. Found in 1854 at a depth of 26 ft. to 28 ft., in King's Square (N.G. 60445197), near the house at the corner of Goodramgate and King's Square, in making a drain along Goodramgate and Church Street.
IM]P(ERATOR) ▵ CAESAR
DIVI N]ERVAE ▵ FIL(IVS) ▵ N[ERVA
TRAI]ANVS ▵ AVG(VSTVS) ▵ GER[M(ANICVS) DAC
ICVS PO]NTIFEX ▵ MAXIMV[S TRIBV
NICIAE PO]TESTATIS ▵ XII ▵ IMP(ERATOR) ▵ V [CO(N)S(VL) V P(ATER) P(ATRIAE)
PORTAM] PER ❧ LEG(IONEM) ▵ VIIII ▵ HI[SP(ANAM) FECIT
'The Emperor Caesar, son of the divine Nerva, Nerva Traianus Augustus, Germanicus, Dacicus, pontifex maximus, in his twelfth year of tribunician power, five times acclaimed Imperator, five times consul, father of his country, made this gateway by agency of the Ninth Legion Hispana.' The stone is dated by Trajan's twelfth tribunician power to the year 10 Dec. 107–9 Dec. 108. The lettering is of very great elegance and its form suggests a draft written with pen or brush, faithfully copied by the mason and thus affording a glimpse of the official style used by clerks or draughtsmen of the Ninth Legion. CIL, 241; YMH, 46; YPS Procs. I (1847–54), 282; Yorks. Gazette, 12 Aug. 1854; S. N. Miller, JRS, XV (1925), 190; I. A. Richmond, Sheldon Memorial Lecture, 1959, frontispiece.
(2) Commemorative Tablet fragment (Plate 37), 10 ins. by 6 ins., in limestone, of a large inscription. Found in 1879, at a depth of 3 ft. at the N. end of the York Art Gallery.
IMP(ERATORI) CAESARI DIVI] TRAI[AN(I) PARTHICI F(ILIO)
DIVI NERVAE NEP(OTI) / TRAIANO HADRIANO A]VG(VSTO)
P[ONT(IFICI) MAX(IMO . . . . )
'For the Emperor Caesar, son of the divine Traianus Parthicus, grandson of the divine Nerva, Traianus Hadrianus, Augustus, pontifex maximus . . . .' The emperor is certainly Hadrian. Had he been Trajan, then GERMANICVS must have followed AVG(VSTVS). EE, VII, 935; YMH, 47; YPSR (1879), 11, 27, 31; S. N. Miller, JRS, XVIII (1928), 75.
(3) Commemorative Tablet fragment (Plate 37), 11 ins. by 9 ins. by 4 ins., of gritstone. The top moulded border of the tablet is preserved, but the stone has been cut down to form an arched lintel or window-head. Found in 1883, with Danish remains, on the site of the Technical College, Clifford Street (N.G. 60335156). IMP(ERATOR)] CAES(AR) ▵ M . . . . . 'The Emperor Caesar M(arcus)' EE, VII, 933; YMH, 48.
(4) Commemorative Tablet fragment (Plate 37), 1¾ ft. by 11 ins. by 3 ins., of limestone, with the lower moulded border preserved. Found with Nos. 52–3 at the junction of High Ousegate and Nessgate, under the Midland Bank (see Monument 37).
. . . . GO . . .
.... MI ▵ P(RIMI) ▵ P(ILI) ▵ SVB [CVRA ...
. . . . RI ▵ ET ▵ M(ARCI) ▵ COSS[VTII(?)
'. . . . . . under the care of . . ri and Marcus Coss(utius?).' The final line is not a consular dating, and presumably includes two acting agents. CIL, 258; YMH, 62; see also No. 53.
(5) Centurial Stone (Plate 36), a facing-stone of magnesian limestone, 11 ins. by 4 ins., in the outer face of the E. angle of the Severan fortress wall, 6½ ft. above the plinth. It was noted in 1946. The inscription, in an ansate panel in a moulded frame, reads COH(ORS) X 'The tenth cohort (built this).' JRS, XXXVII (1947), 180. From Section (R), see p. 33b.
(6) Centurial Stone (Plate 36), a magnesian limestone block, 9 ins. by 3½ ins., set upside down on the inner face of the S. Angle Tower of the legionary fortress, which was excavated in 1956 below Hart's Store, Market Street, Feasegate, see p. 13a. >IVLLINI 'The Century of Iullinus (built this).' Evidently the stone is reused. JRS, XLVII (1957), 227; YAJ, XXXIX (1958), 517–9, pl. IIa.
(7) Centurial Stones (Plate 36), eight, observed and drawn in the early 19th century by J. Browne, and published by C. Wellbeloved (Eburacum, 59, pl. VII). None is now visible and the sole record is the engraving from Browne's drawing. Of the stones therein shown: no. 1, in relief lettering, is unlikely to have been Roman and is here omitted; nos. 2–9 were facing-stones from near the ground on the inner face of the W. Angle Tower of the legionary fortress; no. 10 was 'worked up in the modern city wall'.
No. 2, > ANTON(I) PRIM(I)/ CXX. 3, > ANTON(I) PR(I)MI. 4, LEG(IO) [VI] VICT(RIX). 5, >CALP]VRNI VICT[O]RINI. 6, doubtful. 7, uncertain. 8, > (?). 9, LEG(IO) [VI] VIC(TRIX). 10, > name illegible.
Nos. 2 and 3 were apparently normal centurial stones, both of the century of Antonius Primus. Nos. 4–10, described by Wellbeloved as 'rude scratches', were more in the nature of graffiti; but nos. 8 and 10 had the centurial sign, while nos. 4, 5, 7 and 9 referred to the Sixth Legion (Victrix). The position of the stones in the walling suggests that they may have been reused, and that the graffiiti too were probably made before the stones were built into the wall. CIL, 242; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum (1842), 58–9 and pl. VII (2–10).
Statue
(8) Head (Plate 42), male, twice life-size 1½ ft. tall in magnesian limestone, the nose damaged. It was found before 1823, in Stonegate. The subject, who is clean-shaven and wears an Imperial oak wreath, has been identified as Constantine I (I. A. Richmond, in Ant. Journ., XXIV (1944), 3). Weathering suggests that the statue originally stood in the open, perhaps in front of the Headquarters Building of the legionary fortress. YMH (1891), 68.
Architectural Fragments
Columns, Capitals, Bases
In the Yorkshire Museum are fragments of gritstone shafts of the following diameters: 1 ft. 11 ins., 1 ft. 5 ins., 1 ft. 3 ins., 1 ft. More noteworthy are the two following:
(9) Column fragment (Plate 48), of gritstone, 1¾ ft. complete maximum diameter by 3 ft. 5 ins. tall. Found near Nessgate, at a depth of 11½ ft. (see Monument 37). The surface is carved with a scale pattern. There is a dowel hole, 7 ins. by 7 ins., in the side, and another at the bottom. The top of the stone has been broken. YPSR (1925), 31.
(10) Column fragment, of a tapering shaft, from 1 ft. 2 ins. to 10 ins. complete in diameter by 3 ft. 1½ ins. tall, with a square dowel hole at the bottom end. On the side at the top is part of a decoration in relief. Probably from York but exact provenance unknown.
Baluster, see No. 12(f) below.
(11) Capitals, ten, have been recorded or are in the Yorkshire Museum. Unless otherwise described they are of gritstone and as follows (a, b, d, e, g: Fig. 79. c, f, h, i: Plate 40)
(a–b), with a third capital moulded but otherwise unrecorded, came from beneath the Railway Offices, Tanner Row, in 1901 (see Monument 31), stone unspecified: one, enriched with acanthus leaves, 17¼ ins. by 17 ins. (for a shaft 15 ins. in diameter) by 18 ins. high; the other, moulded, 20 ins. (for a shaft 13 ins. in diameter) by 17 ins. YPSR (1901), pl. VI. All are now lost, but the first two are depicted on a plan of 'L.N.E.R. York. New Offices' belonging to British Railways. (c), from under the Midland Bank, Nessgate—High Ousegate corner, 1839 (see Monument 37 and No. 12(g) below), of magnesian limestone, 15 ins. (for a shaft 7½ ins. in diameter) by 10 ins. York Courant, 11 May 1843; YMH, 71. (d–e), from beneath Nos. 25–7 High Ousegate, 1902 (see Monument 38): one, 17 ins. (for a shaft 9 ins. in diameter) by 16 ins.; the other, 18 ins. (for a shaft 8 ins. in diameter) by 12 ins. YPSR (1902), pl. IV. Now lost. (f) fragment, 9 ins. (for a shaft 7 ins. in diameter) by 14 ins. (g) fragment, enriched with acanthus leaves, 18 ins. tapering to 12 ins. in diameter by 14 ins. high; very worn. (h) 23 ins. (for a shaft 11 ins. in diameter) by 17½ ins. (i) 17 ins. (for a shaft 11 ins. in diameter) by 17 ins. (j) fragment of a capital or base, 31 ins. maximum diameter, by 18 ins. high, with a large hole in the middle; very much blackened. The places where (f–j) were found are not recorded.
(12) Bases, seven, of which the exact provenance is known, are all of gritstone and as follows (a, b, c, f: Fig. 79)
(a) coarse Attic base, maximum diameter of 2 ft. 8 ins. (for a shaft 18 ins. in diameter) by 1 ft. 7 ins. high; it is still in situ, resting on a second block of gritstone of uncertain size, under the Treasurer's House, Chapter House Street, that is, in the retentura of the former legionary fortress. (b) coarse Attic base, with heavy torus mouldings, maximum diameter 2 ft. 1 in. (for a shaft 1 ft. 5 ins. in diameter) by 1 ft. 5 ins. high; it rests, as it was found, upon a sub-base consisting of a large slab of gritstone 2 ft. 8 ins. by 2 ft. 7 ins. by 6 ins. in the crypt of York Minster (see Fortress, Internal Buildings, Central Area (b)). (c) Attic base, maximum diameter 1 ft. 10 ins. (for a shaft 1½ ft. in diameter) by 8¾ ins. high, on a sub-base consisting of a block 1 ft. 10 ins. square by 6 ins. high; it was found in Trinity Lane and is now in Holy Trinity Church, Micklegate (see Monument 21). (d-e), two, found in High Ousegate (see Monument 38), one of maximum diameter 10½ ins. (for a shaft 8 ins. in diameter) by 1 ft. 1 in. high, the other, a fragment, for a shaft 10 ins. in diameter. YPSR (1902), pl. IV. (f) monolithic with most of a baluster shaft (Plate 40), found at the Old Railway Station in 1840 (see Monument 34c); base 11 ins. in diameter, shaft 10 ins., height over all 2 ft. 10 ins. C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, pl. VIII. (g) with two torus mouldings, now mostly cut away, maximum diameter 18 ins. (for a shaft 12 ins. in diameter) by 12 ins. high; it was found with No. 11(c).
In the Yorkshire Museum are thirteen other column bases, the exact provenance of which is not recorded; all, excepting one of limestone, are of gritstone. Also in the Museum is the lower part of a rectangular gritstone pedestal-base for a column or statue, 1 ft. 4 ins. square by 1 ft. 2 ins. high, found in Micklegate in 1853 near St. Martin's church (see Monument 26). YMH, 27.
Entablatures
(13) Architrave fragment (Plate 48), 3 ft. by 1 ft. 8 ins. by 1 ft. 4 ins., in gritstone, from an elaborate arch, or niche-head, of approximately 4 ft. radius; from the intrados outwards, two roll-mouldings are followed by a cavetto, a guilloche and a cavetto enriched with conventional leaves. This piece and the next, No. 14, were found in 1818, under one of the piers of the old Ouse Bridge. It has been suggested tentatively that the two might have been robbed from a triumphal arch (I. A. Richmond in Arch. Journ., CIII (1946), 79). YMH, 71; York Chronicle, 13 August 1818; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 54, note 1, pl. VI.
(14) Slab (Plate 48), incomplete, of gritstone, 2 ft. 2 ins. by 2 ft. by 10 ins., carved in relief with the head and wings of an eagle with a wreath around its neck, framed in a large circular wreath of laurel. YMH, 70; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 54, note 1, pl. VI. See No. 13 above.
(15) Slab (Plate 48), incomplete, of gritstone, 1 ft. 8 ins. by 1 ft. 2 ins. by 6½ ins., carved in relief with an eagle with wings outspread within a pediment. The piece has been recut on the slant as a building-stone. Probably from York, but the exact place of discovery is unknown.
(16) Cornice-mouldings, or possibly plinth-mouldings, two lengths, one 3 ft. by 10 ins. by 3 ft. and moulded on all four sides, found in 1959 in Museum Gardens in the fill of the latest ditch of the fortress defences; the other of magnesian limestone, about 1 ft. square (broken) by 5½ ins. high and moulded on at least two sides, found in Spurriergate in 1959.
Miscellanea
(17) Masonry Block (Plate 36. Fig. 81), inscribed, of gritstone, 1 ft. 8 ins. by 8½ ins. by 10 ins., squared at a slight angle to the inscription. The stone is of uncertain provenance, but may have reached the Museum in 1860 with the coffin of Theodorianus (No. 109 below), the left-hand front corner of which it supports, as it has done ever since the coffin arrived there. . . . . SII . . . . / CIVIBVS/ CV . . S . . S No interpretation is possible. EE, VII, 931; YMH, 60.
(18) Masonry Blocks (Plate 36), three, of magnesian limestone, measuring respectively 7 ins. by 4 ins., 7 ins. by 4 ins., and 1 ft. 4 ins. by 9 ins. They are facing-stones and each bears a phallus in relief. From the fortress wall, near the W. angle. C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 58.
Terra-cottas
(19) Antefix (Plate 38), terra-cotta, rectangular face with gabled top, now broken, 6 ins. by 7½ ins.; it has a flange at the back to fit over the ridge-tile. On the front is a male figure, wearing a tunic, skirt and short breeches and holding a fish in his left hand; to the left of the figure is stylised foliage. Below the fish is a net and above it a fish-trap. Found in 1856 in Trinity Gardens, now the Priory Street area, at a depth of 10 ft. J. Cook's MS. (Yorkshire Museum), 16, pl. X, B 31.
(20) Antefixes (Plate 39), two, in terra-cotta, of rectangular form with a gabled top, both exhibiting a Gorgon's head framed in its own hair. One is 6 ins. by 6 ins. the other is damaged though a large part survives. The closely similar designs are not from the same mould.
(21) Antefixes (Plate 39), six, in terra-cotta, of rectangular form with gabled top and rearward projection to fit into an imbrex. The face of each exhibits a rudimentary female bust in a hooded frame, surrounded by segmental stalk-like ornament. (a) 6½ ins. by 9 ins. and (b-e) of the same approximate measurements and design but not from the same mould. (f) is slightly larger, but the figure has breasts developed, wears a head-dress and has a leaf flanking each side of the face. One, figured in J. Cook's MS. (Yorkshire Museum), 17, pl. XI, B 32, is said to have been found 'nigh the railway arch, City Walls, 1848'.
(22) Antefix fragment (Plate 38), in terra-cotta, 3 ins. by 4½ ins., with a large vine leaf within a wreath of grapes.
(23) Roof Finials (Plate 38), two, terra-cotta, perforated tower-like objects, (a) 4¼ ins. diameter by 8¾ ins. high, (b) 5 ins. diameter by 1 ft. 2 ins. high. Each had three storeys and a conical roof, the two upper storeys being pierced by windows. The smaller example (a) has a knobbed finial at the top and has been broken off at the lower tier of windows. Originally each had a flange (such survives on a similar finial in the Malton Museum), by which it was held in place by the ridge tiles; the base of (b) still shows the beginning of the turn. YPSR, (1947), 40, describes fragments of two others.
(24) Roof-tile, 2 ft. by 1 ft., inscribed while the clay was moist with the workman's finger:
POL(L)IO
COL(L)EGIO
FELIC(I)T(E)R
'Pol(l)io to the guild, good luck!' Found in 1737, S.W. of the Marygate-Clifton footpath. W. C. Lukis, Diaries and Letters of Wm. Stukeley, III, 327, in Surtees Society Publications, vol. 80.
(25) Roof-tiles, building tiles, voussoirs, bearing stamps of the IXth Legion (Fig. 80). Two with LEG IX HIS, the rest LEG IX HISP. The version LEG IX VIC., recorded by R. Thoresby in Royal Society Phil. Trans., XXV (1706), 2195, is a misreading of LEG(IO) IX HIS(PANA).
(26) Roof-tiles, ridge-tiles, building tiles, bearing stamps of the VIth Legion (Fig. 80). The forms are here grouped
Legio VI: LE VI, LIIG VI, LEG VI. The last also ansate, with either normal or retrograde text. All forms are common, except variations of the last, of which single examples alone survive.
Legio vi victrix: LEG VI VIC, LEG VI VI, LEG VI V, LIIG VI V. Only one example of the first and last, the other two common.
Legio vi victrix, pia fidelis: LEG VI VICT PF, LEG VI VIT PF, LEG VI V PF and ansate, LEG VI V PF also found retrograde, LE VI V PF. All are common except the second, of which only one example survives, in Sheffield Museum.
Legio vi Severiana. A.D. 222–36: LEG VI SEV. One example; but there are several retrograde stamps, nearly all from the excavations in Museum Gardens.
Legio vi Gordiana. A.D.238–44: LEG VI GOR retrograde. One example on an imbrex.
(27) Imbrex (Fig. 80), stamped ]II CTOOF. CIL, 1223, V.
(28) Plaque (Plate 38), terra-cotta, holed for suspension, 7 ins. by 5 ins., showing a winged male figure, nude and holding drapery, near to a stool or table. Found near York Railway Station in 1878.
Religious
Altars (inscribed)
(29) Altar (Plate 45), of shelly limestone, 13 ins. by 27 ins. by 10 ins., found in Bishophill Senior in 1638. The inscription was recorded by Martin Lister in a letter written about 1677 and published in 1682; and the stone was presented by him in 1683 to the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford (Phil. Trans., XIV, 112), where it now is. In Lister's day the inscription, though 'miserably defaced', was preserved: today the stone has suffered very severely from exfoliation and disintegration, so that only two lines are discernible. The figures, hardly described by Lister, are, on the left, conventional objects, perhaps lighted altars, and, on the right, a figure in armour, presumably the prefect, sacrificing an animal.
▵ I(OVI) ▵ O(PTIMO) ▵ M(AXIMO) ▵
DIS DEABVS[QUE
HOSPITALIBVS PE
NATIBVSQ(VE) OB CON
SERVATAM SALVTEM
SVAM SVORVMQ(VE)
P · AEL(IVS) MARCIAN
VS PRAEF(ECTVS) COH(ORTIS)
ARAM SAC(RAVIT) ❧ AC DED(ICAVIT)]
'To Jupiter, best and greatest, and to the gods and goddesses of hospitality and home, because of his health and that of his family preserved, Publius Aelius Marcianus, prefect of a cohort, hallowed and dedicated this altar.' It will be noted that Marcianus is the commandant of an auxiliary cohort, and that the altar came from the area of the colonia. The final words, recorded by Lister as SAC · F ·NC · D, were copied by the antiquary Brian Fairfax for Drake as SAC f NC DE, suggesting a leaf-stop after SAC; and this version also occurs in Gibson's edition of Camden's Britannia. CIL, 237, with a wrong reference to Lister; M. Lister, in Royal Society Philosophical Collections, No. 4 (1682), 91–2, for text; editor, Philosophical Transactions, XIV (1683), 112, for gift to the Ashmolean; W. Camden, Britannia (ed. Gibson, 1695), 734; F. Drake, Eboracum (1736), 56, pl. viii, fig. 3 (from Brian Fairfax); R. Chandler, Marmora Oxoniensia (1763), pt. 3, pl. I, figs, II, 1, 2.
(30) Altar (Plate 44. Fig. 81), of gritstone, 7 ins. by 1 ft. by 7 ins., found in 1880 in a dump of Roman stones including Nos. 38, 39, 59, with burials below them, at St. Mary's Convent, Nunnery Lane, close to the main Roman road, just outside the built-up area of the Roman town (see Burials, IV Region, (k), iv). The stones had been gathered together after the Roman period, see No. 39.
DEO MARTI ❧
AGRIVS ▵
AVSPEX ▵
V(OTUM) · S(OLVIT) · L(IBENS) · M(ERITO) ▵
'To the god Mars, Agrius Auspex pays his vow willingly and deservedly.' The C sometimes read at the end of the first line is not a letter: it is most probably part of a leaf-stop. EE, VII, 925; YMH, 35–6; Arch. Journ., XXXVIII (1881), 286; YPSR (1880), 13–4, 47–8, 50–1; York Herald, 8 Dec. 1880; Yorks. Gazette, 11 Dec. 1880.
(31) Altar, of gritstone, 10 ins. by 19 ins. by 10 ins. The face is heavily worn; a wreath is visible on one side. Found in the 19th century on the site of, or behind, the York Art Gallery. MARTIE was read by W. T. Watkin on the face of the altar but it is not now visible. EE, VII, 926; YMH, 35; W. T. Watkin in Arch. Journ., XXXVIII (1881), 296.
(32) Altar (Plate 44. Fig. 81), of limestone, in two fragments, of which the larger, 11 ins. by 2½ ft. by 8 ins., comprises the base and greater part of the die, while the smaller comprises most of a flat-topped capital, 6½ ins. high. The bolsters and focus may have been supplied on a cap-stone. Found in 1884, with a fragment of another altar (see No. 41), on the S.E. side of The Mount, between Mill Mount and Scarcroft Road (N.G. 595511), alongside the main Roman road (Road 10) to the S.W., but well outside the civil settlement (see Burials, IV Region, (1)).
❧ D[EO SANCTO
SILVA[NO
L(VCIVS) ❧ CELERINIVS
VITALIS ❧ CORNI(CVLARIVS)
LEG(IONIS) ❧ VIIII ❧ HIS(PANAE)
V(OTVM) · S(OLVIT) · L(AETVS) · L(IBENS) · M(ERITO)
ET DONVM HOC DONVM
ADPERTINEAT CAVTVM ATTIGGAM
'To the holy god Silvanus, Lucius Celerinius Vitalis, clerk in the Ninth Legion Hispana, pays his vow joyfully, willingly and deservedly; and let the gift, this gift, belong: I must beware of touching it.' The last two lines are in semi-cursive lettering, cut very shallow, though the first three letters of the penultimate line are cut more deeply and a beginning has been made on the fourth. Silvanus was a god of the wild, to be propitiated when encroachments were made upon his territory, and the god of hunting; he was also identified with the North-British war-god Cocidius. A cornicularius was the clerk attached to an officer or to H.Q. staff. The reading cautum attiggam is for caute attingam, see F. Haverfield, Arch. Journ., XLVII (1890), 259, with facing collotype. EE, VII, 928; YMH, 43; YPSR (1884), 9.
(33) Altar (Plate 43), or base for statue, of magnesian limestone, 1¼ ft. by 2¼ ft., by 1¼ ft., damaged at the bottom and right side and with a transverse cut at the top on the right and a socket on the left, suggesting re-use as a building stone. Found in 1839, at the Old Railway Station site (N.G. 59805172), associated with Roman Baths (Monument 34(b)).
DEAE
FORTVNAE
SOSIA
IVNCINA
Q(VINTI) ▵ ANTONI
ISAVRICI
LEG(ATI) ▵ AVG(VSTI)
'To the goddess Fortune, Sosia Iuncina, wife of Quintus Antonius Isauricus, Imperial legate.' Dedications to Fortune are often associated with bath-houses, but the fact that this stone appears to have been reused as a building stone excludes a direct connection. The dedication by a woman would suggest a double suite of baths, for males and females. Her husband, Q. Antonius Isauricus, presumably Imperial legate in the capacity of commander of the Sixth Legion, is identified in the Prosopographia Imperii Romani (2nd edn., I, 163, nos. 840–1) with a man, perhaps of the same name, mentioned in CIL, VI, 2017 as consul suffectus with L. Aurelius Flaccus. CIL, 233; YMH, 32; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 90, pl. x; W. Hargrove, New Guide . . . York (1844), 24–5.
(34) Altar (Fig. 81), of gritstone, 1 ft. by 1 ft. 8 ins. by 1 ft., with the top broken off. Found in 1875, on a 'small pile of stones', on the site of the present Railway Station (see Burials, IV Region, (d), x).
. . . . . .
D] ▵ E ▵ O
GENIO
LOCI
V(OTVM)] S(OLVIT) L(IBENS) M(ERITO)
'. . . . to the god, the Genius of the place, willingly and deservedly pays his vow.' The name of the dedicator presumably came first, as in No. 38 below. EE, III, 78 (repeated in error, ibid., 313, as noted in EE, IX, 560); YMH, 33; YPSR (1875), 10, and YPS Comms. (1875), 1; J. Raine, Academy, ii (1875), 388.
(35) Altar fragment, of gritstone, 23 ins. by 19 ins. by 14 ins.; only the capital and the top of the die are left. From Railway Street.
N]V[M(INI)] AVG(VSTI)
E]T GEN(IO) ▵ EB[OR(ACI) . . .
'To the Emperor's divinity, and the Genius of York . . . . .' The Genius is the presiding deity. Unpublished.
(36) Altar (Plate 44. Fig. 81), of magnesian limestone, 4½ ins. by 10 ins. by 5½ ins.; it is in good condition, but the lettering is shallow and weathered. Found in 1752, in Micklegate (N.G. 59855156) (see Monument 23. See also Nos. 37, 38, 42 below).
MAT(RIBVS) · AF(RIS) · ITA(LIS) · GA(LLIS)
M(ARCVS) · MINV(CIVS) · MVDE(NVS)
MIL(ES) · LEG(IONIS) · VI · VIC(TRICIS)
GVBER(NATOR) · LEG(IONIS) · VI
V(OTVM) · S(OLVIT) · L(AETVS) · L(IBENS) M(ERITO)
'To the mother goddesses of Africa, Italy and Gaul, Marcus Minucius Mudenus, soldier of the Sixth Legion Victorious, pilot of the Sixth Legion, paid his vow joyfully, willingly and deservedly.' Mommsen's expansion of guber. as gubernator (EE, V, 215) would imply a river-pilot, and the variety of the dedication is explained by the origins of the cargoes handled. The repetition of the legion is in some form needed, since otherwise a civilian occupation might be supposed. For military pilots, Tac. Hist. iv, 16, gubernatores centurionesque, and Agr. 28; also C. Cichorius, Die Traianssaüle, scenes xxxiii–iv. CIL, 238; YMH, 39; Gents. Mag. (1752), 402, 515; I. Ward in Royal Society Phil. Trans., XLVIII (1735), 33, pl. 2, fig. 1; E. Hübner, Acta Berolinensia (1866), 787; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 88, pl. X.
(37) Altar (Plate 44. Fig. 81), of limestone, 5½ ins. by 8 ins. by 3½ ins.; the capital and the upper part of the die are missing. Found in 1850 under Nos. 15 and 16 Park Place, Huntingdon Road (N.G. 608525) (see also Nos. 36, 38, 42).
M]ATRIBVS ❧
SVIS ❧ MARCVS
RVSTIVS ❧ VET(ERANVS)
V(OTVM) S(OLVIT) ❧ L(IBENS) ❧ L(AETVS) M(ERITO)
'To his own mother goddesses Marcus Rustius, a veteran, paid his vow willingly, joyfully and deservedly.' The proportion of the remaining fragment of the inscribed die suggests that another dedication may well have preceded that to the Matres. CIL, 1342; YMH, 39; YPSR (1871), 11, 27; YPS. Comms. (1872), 13.
(38) Altar (Plate 43. Fig. 81), of soft magnesian limestone, 8 ins. by 17½ ins. by 6½ ins., elegantly carved. The sides are fluted and have been coated with gesso and painted, the flutings yellow and their stops red. The back is plain. The top is damaged, but the altar is otherwise in excellent condition. Found in 1880, with Nos. 30, 39 and 59, in Nunnery Lane (see Burials, IV Region, (k), iv).
C(AIVS) IVLIVS
CRESCENS
MATRI
BVS DO
MESTICIS
V(OTVM) ❧ S(OLVIT) ❧ M(ERITO) ❧ L(IBENS) ❧
'Caius Iulius Crescens to the mother goddesses of the home paid his vow deservedly and willingly.' The Matres were a popular Celtic triad of goddesses (see also Nos. 36, 37, 42). EE, VII, 927; YMH, 38; other references as for No. 30.
(39) Altar (Plate 44. Fig. 81), of magnesian limestone, 5 ins. by 11 ins. by 4½ ins. The vestigial capital does not project beyond the die, nor does the base, but here the surface has been roughly chiselled off, possibly to make the stone suitable for a building stone. Found in 1880, with Nos. 30, 38 and 59, at St. Mary's Convent, Nunnery Lane, in a cache of Roman stones (see Burials, IV Region, (k), iv).
DEO VE
TERI
PRIMVL
VS. VO(VIT) L(IBENS)
M(ERITO)
'To the god Veteris, Primulus vowed (this altar) gladly and deservedly.' Veteris or Huitris was a Germanic deity and most of the dedications are by folk who could not afford a large or expensive altar, chiefly civilians; all are confined to the military regions of Northern Britain. EE, VII, 929; YMH, 45; for other references see No. 30.
(40) Altar (Plate 43), of gritstone, 1 ft. by 2 ft. by 10 ins., with plain back and sides. Found in 1846 at St. Denys' Church, Walmgate (N.G. 60715158).
DEO
ARCIACONI
ET ▵ N(VMINI) ▵ AVG(V)ST(I)
MAT ▵ VITALIS
ORD(INATVS) V(OTVM) ▵ S(OLVIT) ▵ L(IBENS) M(ERITO)
'To the god Arciaco and the Emperor's divinity, Mat . . . . Vitalis, centurion, paid his vow willingly and deservedly.' The god Arciaco, not otherwise known, is presumably a local deity; for the form, cf. Accio, ILS, 4616. MAT . . . ., the expansion is not quite certain, but Mat(ernius) is perhaps most likely. The final LM are ligatured. CIL, 231; YMH, 31; Yorks. Gazette, 1 Aug. 1846.
(41) Altar, small, of limestone, base and part of the die only surviving, 9 ins. by 11 ins. by 7 ins. On the base have been deeply cut the letters S. P. R. The lettering is very fresh and wholly unweathered and looks like a forgery. Found in 1884, near No. 32, on The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (1)). EE, VII, 934; YMH, 46.
Altars (uninscribed):—
(42) Altar, (Plate 45), of gritstone, 15½ ins. by 23 ins. by 12 ins., apparently once inscribed, but now heavily weathered, with traces of focus and rudimentary bolsters. All four sides exhibit carvings in relief, set in niches except at the back. On the front are three Deae Matres, seated, with their right hands across their breasts, and their left hands in their laps; on the left, two standing cloaked figures, one bearing an offering; on the right, one standing cloaked figure carrying a dead animal; on the back, a pig and jar. Found in 1837 in excavations for the railway, just S. of the Holgate Road railway-bridge (N.G. 59185120) (see Burials, IV Region, (m)). YMH, 37; York Courant, 9, 16 November, 1837; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 91, pl. x.
(43) Altar, of white limestone, 12 ins. by 20 ins. by 11 ins., absolutely plain, but with well carved capital. Found in 1840, on the course of the railway near Holgate Road bridge (see Burials, IV Region, (m)). YMH, 45.
(44) Altar, of light-coloured gritstone, 9½ ins. by 16 ins. by 7½ ins., well cut. Found in 1875 at the corner of St. Mary's and Bootham. YMH, 45.
(45) Altar (Plate 44), of gritstone, 1 ft. 4 ins. by 2 ft. 4 ins. by 8 ins., the capital badly worn. On the right side is an axe carved in relief, on the left side a wreath. The front is plain, without trace of an inscription. Found in 1874, in making the archway through the City Walls, Station Approach (see Monument 34(g)). YMH, 45.
(46) Altar, of limestone, base and part of the die, 10 ins. by 13 ins. by 10 ins., badly worn. On the right side is a wreath carved in relief, on the left side a vase; the front has no trace of an inscription. Found in 1872, in Leeman Road near the City Walls. YMH, 46.
(47) Altar, of gritstone, 8 ins. by 15 ins. by 8 ins. Probably from York.
(48) Altar, of white limestone, 6½ ins. by 8 ins. by 3½ ins., badly worn but probably never very well carved. Found 20 yds. S. of the Fox Inn, Dringhouses, by workmen digging drains. Information from Rev. A. Raine. YPSR (1936), 41.
(49) Altar fragment, of white limestone, comprising the gabled top only, or it could have been the top of a small tombstone, 8 ins. by 6 ins. by 8 ins., with a small rosette in the gable. Found in 1931 alongside Tadcaster Road, opposite the Horseshoe, Dringhouses. Information from Rev. A. Raine. YPSR (1931), 29.
(50) Altar fragments, two bases with parts of the dies, (a) of gritstone, 14 ins. by 12 ins. by 13 ins., (b) of limestone, 12 ins. by 14 ins. by 9 ins. They were found in 1883, one in Micklegate and the other in Stonegate but it is not certain which was found where. YMH, 46.
Dedication Tablets:—
(51) Dedication Tablet (Plate 37), of gritstone, 21 ins. by 10 ins. by 10 ins., with an inscription in a sunk and moulded panel. The stone is heavily weathered and its top left-hand corner has been broken off; coarse chisel strokes have later damaged both the moulding and the lettering. Found on the E. side of Coney Street in 1702, in digging a cellar. GENIO LOCI/ FELICITER 'Good luck to the Genius of the place'. CIL, 235; YMH, 33; F. Drake, Eboracum (1736), 57; Royal Society, Phil. Trans., XXIV (1705), 2145.
(52) Dedication Tablet (Plate 47), in gritstone, now 33 ins. by 16 ins. by 5 ins., the right-hand side having been broken. The inscription is in an ansate panel, with the surviving ansa decorated with a goose-headed pelta. Found in 1839 with Nos. 4 and 53 under the Midland Bank, at the corner of Nessgate and High Ousegate (see Monument 37).
NVMINIB(VS) AVG(VSTORVM) ET DEAE IOV[.... ....
.... SIVS AEDEM PRO PARTE D[....
'To the Emperors' divinities and the goddess Iov... .... sius (restored) this partly destroyed temple.' The name of the goddess, beginning 10v. . ., is unidentifiable, and a local deity is probably in question. Of the dedicator's name only the suffix survives. The past participle associated with aedem was some such word as d(irutam) or d(ilapsam). The locality is the canabae, outside the legionary fortress. For references, see CIL, 239, YMH, 42; see also Nos. 4 and 53.
(53) Dedication Tablet (Plate 47), of gritstone, 1 ft. 5 ins. by 1 ft. 9 ins. by 5 ins., with an inscription in an ansate panel. The stone is broken and at least half on the right is missing. Found on the site of the Midland Bank, at the corner of High Ousegate and Nessgate (N.G. 60335168), with Nos. 4 and 52 (see Monument 37).
HERCVL[I
T(ITVS) PERPET[...
AETER[NVS ...
EBVR[....
REST[ITV....
'To Hercules...... Titus Perpet... Aeternus restored this temple.' PERPET... a rare nomen, possibly Perpetuinius (cf. CIL, XI, 4751). The proportion of the stone indicates either that an epithet of Hercules followed his name or that another deity shared the dedication. This implies that Aeternus is not the same person as Perpet..., and that a corporate group of priests or magistrates made the dedication. Their official connection with Eburacum was conveyed in the fourth line. CIL, 236; YMH, 34; see also No. 4 above.
(54) Dedication Tablet (Plate 47), in gritstone, 3 ft. by 2 ft. 1 in. by 7 ins., with an inscription surrounded by a cable moulding in an ansate panel. Each ansa is of pelta form, decorated with a medial star in a circle, while the spandrels are occupied by a pair of cult standards above and a leaf and rosette below. The letters, deeply cut but ill arranged, increase in size towards the bottom of the stone, except for the final line, where they are small. Found in 1770 in Toft Green (N.G. 598517) (see Monument 32).
DEO ▵ SANCTO
SERAPI
TEMPLVM ▵ A SO
LO FECIT
CL(AVDIVS) ▵ HIERONY
MIANVS ▵ LEG(ATVS)
LEG(IONIS) ▵ VI ▵ VIC(TRICIS)
'To the holy god Serapis, Claudius Hieronymianus, legate of the Sixth Legion Victorious, built this temple from the ground.' Claudius Hieronymianus is identified (Prosopographia Imperii Romani, 2nd ed., II, 206, no. 888) with a vir clarissimus of this name involved in a judgment by Papinian about a will (Ulpian, Digest, 33, 7, 12, 40) and with the praeses of Cappadocia whom Tertullian (ad Scap. 3) mentions at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries as persecuting Christians after his wife's conversion (cf. E. Birley, Roman Britain and the Roman Army, 51). C. Wellbeloved associated the founding of this temple with the close connection between Severus and the Egyptian god Serapis. CIL, 240; YMH, 43; ILS, 4384; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 75–6, pl. IX; Archaeologia, III (1786), 151; York Courant, 21 Aug. 1770.
(55) Dedication Tablet fragments (Plate 47), two, of gritstone, comprising the lower centre part and the lower right corner of a moulded panel, 8 ins. by 15 ins. and 10 ins. by 4 ins. respectively; the wing of an ansa is preserved on the right margin. Found in York, on a site not known, and now in Bankfield Museum, Halifax.
....TRI..
..ON ▵ VI ...
.. FELICI... ..O
PRO] SALVTE [SVA] ET SVORVM
VOT]VM ▵ LIBEN[TES] SOLVERVNT
'.... for their safety and that of their families willingly paid their vow.' EE, VII, 1182, 1183; recognised as two parts of one stone, EE, IX, 1116.
Statues (inscribed):—
(56) Statue Base (Plate 49. Fig. 81), of magnesian limestone, 8 ins. by 8 ins. by 5 ins. Found in 1840 near the legionary fortress wall, in St. Leonard's Place (N.G. 601522).
D(E)AE S(ANCTAE) ▵ F[ORTVNAE
PRO SALV[TE.....
AVSPICA[TAE ET.....
MAE SIM[PLICIAE (?)
I ▵ D(ONVM) ▵ D(EDIT) ▵ LI[.....
METROB[IANVS
M(ERITO) ▵ L(IBENS) ▵ V(OTVM) [S(OLVENS)
'To the holy goddess Fortune for the good health of .... Auspicata and ... Sim[plicia(?)] .... Metrobianus gave this gift deservedly paying his vow.' The feet, the bottom of the skirt and traces of another object, perhaps a rudder, are all that remain of the statue, and even these identifications are in some doubt. The right-hand side of the inscription is damaged and the inscription much weathered. CIL, 234; YMH, 32; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 94; YPSR (1867), 22; W. Hargrove, New Guide .... York (1844), 25.
(57) Statue Base, 10 ins. by 2 ft., now lost. The lead for fixing the feet of a statue remained on top. Found in 1740 in digging a cellar just within Micklegate Bar (N.G. 59765147).
BRITANNIAE
SANCTAE
P(OSUIT) NIKOMEDES
AVGG(VSTORVM) NN(OSTRORVM)
LIBERTVS
'Nikomedes, a freedman of the Emperors, set up (this statue) to holy Britannia.' An Imperial freedman might be in York on a variety of official affairs. The two Emperors under whom he was serving cannot be certainly identified, though the most likely are Severus and Caracalla (A.D. 197–209 in Britain) and after that Marcus and Verus, or Marcus and Commodus (A.D. 161–9; A.D. 176–80). CIL, 232; York Courant, 8, 22 April 1740, with woodcut; W. Hargrove, History of York (1818), I, 300.
(58) Statue (Plate 46. Fig. 81), of gritstone, 13 ins. by 24 ins., the upper half free-standing, the lower in relief; the head and right hand missing. The subject is a male figure, winged and naked except for a fringed loin-cloth tied with a knotted snake; in his left hand he carries a pair of keys, and in his right he grasped a sceptre. A notch is cut between the feet. Found under the flight of steps leading up to the mediaeval wall, in making the S. arch for Station Road through the City Wall (N.G. 59825189) (see Monument 34(g)).
VOL(VSIVS) ▵ IRE[NAEVS
D(ONVM) [D(EDIT)
ARIMANI V(OTVM) [S(OLVENS) L(IBENS) M(ERITO)
'Volusius Irenaeus, paying his vow willingly and deservedly to Arimanes, gave (this) gift.' The dedication is to Arimanius, the Mithraic god of Evil. The missing head was most probably that of a lion, symbolic of all-devouring Death. The snake girdle represents the tortuous course of the sun through the sky; the wings signify the winds; while the keys are those of the heavens and the sceptre is the sign of dominion. For the type, R. Pettazoni, Essays on the History of Religion (Leiden, 1954), 180–92. For dedications to Arimanes or Arimanius, see CIL VI, 47, III, 3414–5. EE, III, 77; YMH, 30; J. Raine, unpublished notes in York Public Library, 3; YPS Comms. (1877), 38).
Pedestal or Altar, see No. 33 above.
Statues (uninscribed)
(59) Statue (Plate 46), life-size, of gritstone, 5 ft. 10 ins. high excluding the modern feet and base. The subject is a young man, with crested helmet of Greek type, curly hair, a metal breastplate with elaborate lappets at skirt and sleeves, a tunic, a longish sword slung on a shoulder-strap, and greaves. His right hand (now missing) probably held a spear, his left rests on an oval shield with a large plain round boss. The panoply is not of legionary type, for either men or officers, and the statue probably represents Mars. Found with Nos. 30, 38 and 39 at St. Mary's Convent, Blossom Street, but probably deposited in post-Roman times (see BURIALS, IV Region, (k), iv). YMH, 36; see also No. 30 above.
(60) Statuette (Plate 49), of a nude young man, of white marble, 10 ins. high, with the legs broken off at the knee and the right hand broken off at the elbow. He has curly hair wreathed in laurel and drapery round the left forearm. Found on the site of the Old Railway Station. G. Home, Roman York (1924), pl. opp. 146.
(61) Statuette (Plate 49), male torso, of limestone, 5½ ins. high; the head and the lower portions of the legs and arms are missing. The figure is nude except for a short cloak fastened with a round brooch over the right shoulder and with the point hanging halfway down the back. There are traces of red paint on the cloak and body at the back. The left hand holds a ribbed staff broken at both ends, and something has been broken off the right shoulder. Found near Micklegate Bar in 1854. YMH, 34; Cook MS. in the Yorkshire Museum, 88, pl. LXXXII, B 192.
(62) Statuette (Plate 49), much weathered marble head of a female, 2 ins. high, with braided hair, probably representing Venus; the nose is damaged. The back of the head is flat, as if to fit a niche. An iron dowel is inserted in the middle of the neck. The piece could be from a domestic shrine. Found on Toft Green in 1875. YMH, 69.
(63) Statuette fragment (Plate 49), comprising the front part of the limestone base, 8 ins. by 2 ins. by 5½ ins., of a statuette, one quarter life size, of which only the feet, with traces of drapery at the ankles, remain. The position of the drapery indicates a female. Found in 1954 in the make-up of Road 9, Blossom Street. Unpublished.
(64–66) Statuettes, etc. of which the whereabouts are not now known. (64) Draped female figure of sandstone, 18 ins. high, 'resting against a cippus'. Found in the excavations for the Old Railway Station at York, 1841, and formerly in the Bateman Collection (Catalogue (1855), 261). (65) Figure of stone, 10¾ ins. high including a square pedestal 4½ ins. high, with drapery over one shoulder. Given to the Yorkshire Museum in 1833, but not in any edition of the Handbook. Found in 1833 in Goodramgate at a depth of 7 ft. W. Hargrove, New Guide ... York (1838), 50–1. (66) Fragments, two—(a) Pedestal with an illegible inscription and the feet only remaining of the figure above. Found in Trinity Yard, Micklegate, in 1736. F. Drake, Eboracum (1736), 60, pl. VIII, 10. (b) Foot of a statue found in Toft Green in 1875. This piece was in the Yorkshire Museum in 1891, but is not now identifiable. YMH, 69.
Sculptured Reliefs:—
(67) Mithraic Relief (Plate 46), plaque, of limestone, 2 ft. 3 ins. by 1 ft. 10 ins., with closely packed figures in an arched recess, badly worn. The principal figure is Mithras, in Phrygian dress, his left knee bent and resting on the bull's back whilst he stabs its neck. A dog jumps up to lick the blood from the wound. To left and right stand the torch-bearers, Cautes and Cautopates, the latter much mutilated. Above Mithras and the bull, three busts appear, the Sun with radiate crown to left, the Moon to right, of Mithras, and on her right an unidentified figure. Below the bull-killing, three groups of figures represent an initiate's progress. On the left he receives baptism, the priest pouring water on his head; in the centre he shares a wooden tub with a fellow initiate, the tub probably filled with ice cold water; on the right he is ushered into a horse-drawn chariot. This presumably represents the grade of Heliodromos. Found in 1747, in Micklegate, opposite St. Martin's church, at a depth of 10 ft. YMH, 40; Gents. Mag. (1751), 102–3; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 79–85, pl. IX.
(68) Relief, of gritstone, 1 ft. by 10 ins. by 4 ins. Mercury stands behind an altar, holding in his left hand a caduceus, in his right hand a large bag-like purse; to right of the altar is a cock, to left a stag. The head of the god rises above the relief and is carved in the round. Probably from York.
(69) Relief, oblong stone, now lost. The sole authority for this is W. Hargrove, History of York (1818), II, 574, where an indifferent engraving portrays it. The piece has a framed border at top and sides. On the right an animal resembling a horse moves out of a building and is met by a youthful male, apparently naked, with a cloak draped over his left shoulder. On the left a standing robed figure faces an altar and perhaps a shrine. The scene is evidently religious and the youth with a horse might be one of the Dioscuri. The piece was first seen in 'the wall of a field', near St. Anthony's Hospital, at the N.W. end of Gillygate.
(70) Relief (Plate 46), gritstone plaque, 22 ins. by 21 ins. by 5½ ins., with a plain frame enclosing the face of a Celtic god, with lentoid eyes and drooping moustache, framed in a wild mass of flowing locks like the Bath Gorgon. Traces of red and white paint are still visible on the stone. Probably found in York. Listed in YMH (1881), 63, but not in any earlier edition.
Sepulchral
Tombstones and Memorial Tablets
(71) Tombstone fragment (Plate 50. Fig. 81), of gritstone, 30 ins. by 37 ins. by 7 ins., broken off across the first and second lines of the inscription. The surviving top contains a large round-headed scalloped niche, above an inscribed panel with a moulded border. Above the niche is a decoration of stylised flowers and foliage, and in the spandrels two Tritons defaced. In the niche the deceased woman and her husband recline on the mattress and cushion of a high-backed couch with baluster legs. She holds a wine cup in her left hand, and he has his right arm about her shoulders and holds in his left a cake or a roll. By the right-hand leg of the couch is a costrel for wine, and in front of it a three-legged dining table with cabriole legs, bearing food. A little girl stands in front of the couch on the left, clasping an object now obscure, perhaps a pet bird. Found in 1872, on the old cricket ground, N.W. of the present Railway Station (see Burials, IV Region, (g)).
AELIAE ▵ AELIANAE
VIX(IT) ▵ AN[NOS ...
'To Aelia Aeliana; she lived . . years . . .' CIL, 1343; YPSR (1872), 9, 24; YPS Comms. (1872), 20.
(72) Tombstone (Plate 51. Fig. 82), of gritstone, 2 ft. 7 ins. by 6 ft. by 6 ins., a narrow gabled stone, with a rose in the gable and an inscribed panel below. Found in 1911 (see Burials, IV Region, (m), viii), when making a drain close to Mount School (N.G. 593511), where it now is.
D(IS) ▵ M(ANIBVS) ▵
▵ L(VCIVS) ▵ B(A)EBIVS ▵
▵ AVG(VSTA) ▵ CRES
CENS ▵ VIN(DELICORVM)
MIL(ES) LEG(IONIS) ▵ VI ▵
▵ VIC(TRICIS) ▵ P(IAE) ▵ F(IDELIS) ▵
AN(NORVM) ▵ XL ▵ III ▵
▵ STIP(ENDIORVM) ▵ XX ▵ III ▵
▵ H(ERES) A(MICO?) ▵ F(ACIVNDVM) ▵ C(VRAVIT)
'To the spirits of the departed. Lucius B(a)ebius Crescens, from Augusta Vindelicorum, soldier of the Sixth Legion Victorious, Loyal and Faithful, 43 years of age and of 23 years service. The heir had (this tombstone) made for his friend.' Augusta Vindelicorum is now Augsburg. In the final line the A, which was inserted in antiquity, is explained by Hirschfeld as a(mico). EE, IX, 1375; YAJ, XXII (1913), 127; G. Benson, York II, 161; York Herald, 14 Oct. 1911.
(73) Tombstone (Plate 50), of gritstone, 2 ft. by 3 ft. by 7 ins., with the upper panel, except for the feet of the figure carved in relief, broken off. The inscription is in a moulded panel with loops at each corner and decorative curved projections in the middle of each side, while the letters D. M. lie outside it, flanking the relief in an extra loop above the top corners, only the M now surviving. Found in 1861, between Mill Mount and Scarcroft Road, E. of The Mount (N.G. 595511) (see Burials, IV Region, (1), vii).
D(IS)] M(ANIBVS)
CORELLIA ▵ OPTATA ▵ AN(NORVM) ▵ XIII
SECRETI ▵ MANES ▵ QVI REGNA
ACHERVSIA ▵ DITIS ▵ INCOLI
TIS ▵ QVOS ▵ PARVA PETVNT POST
LUMINA ▵ VITE ▵ EXIGVIS ▵ CINIS
ET ▵ SIMVLACRVM ▵ CORPORIS ▵ VM
BRA ▵ INSONTIS GNATE ▵ GENI
TOR ▵ SPE ▵ CAPTVS ▵ INIQUA
SVPREMVM ▵ HVNC ▵ NATE
MISERANDVS ▵ DEFLEO ▵ FINEM
Q(VINTVS) ▵ CORE(LLIVS) ▵ FORTIS ▵ PAT(ER) ▵ F(ACIVNDVM) ▵ C(VRAVIT)
'To the spirits of the departed. Corellia Optata, 13 years old. Ye hidden spirits, that dwell in Pluto's Acherusian realms, whom the scanty ash and the shade, the body's image, seek after life's little day, I, the pitiable father of an innocent daughter, caught by cheating hope, lament her final end. Quintus Corellius Fortis, the father, had this made.' CIL, 250; F. Buecheler and A. Riese, Anthologia Latina, ii, 1, 183, no. 395; YMH, 58; YPSR (1861), 30–1, (1863), 8, (1884), 25b; Gents. Mag. (1861) pt. I, 594; pt. II, 171.
(74) Tombstone (Plate 55), fragmentary, of magnesian limestone, 21 ins. by 22 ins. by 12 ins. The bust of Decimina, in a gabled niche at the top, is flanked by half niches containing, on the left, a basket filled with fruit, on the right, a beribboned laurel wreath. The inscription is divided from the relief by a simple moulding. Found in 1860, while deepening a cellar at the Bar (St. Mary's) Convent, Blossom Street (N.G. 59755140) (see Burials, IV Region, (k), i).
D(IS) M(ANIBVS)
DECIMINAE DE
CIMI FILIA[E
'To the spirits of the departed, and to Decimina, daughter of Decimus.....' CIL, 251; YMH, 58; YPSR (1860), 10, 28, 35.
(75) Tombstone (Plate 55), of limestone, 2 ft. 2 ins. by 6 ft. 2 ins. by 7 ins., with gabled top, found in 1688, on the site of Holy Trinity Priory, Micklegate (see Burials, IV Region, (j), i). In the apex of the gable is a small cross in a circle. Below, in a round-headed niche Duccius stands holding a maniple standard in his right hand and a case of writing-tablets in his left. He is in military undress uniform. Below the relief a simple moulded panel contains the inscription.
L(VCIVS) ▵ DVCCIVS
L(VCI FILIVS) ▵ VOLT(INIA TRIBV) ▵ RVFI
NVS ▵ (DOMO) VIEN(NA)
SIGNIF▵(ER) ▵ LEG(IONIS) ▵ VIIII
AN(NORVM) XXIIX
H(IC) S(ITVS) E(ST)
'Lucius Duccius Rufinus, son of Lucius, of the Voltinian tribe, from Vienne, a standard-bearer of the Ninth Legion, 28 years old. He is laid here.' CIL, 243; YMH, 49; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum (1842), 113–5, summarises the early references.
(76) Tombstone (Plate 50. Fig. 83), of limestone, rectangular tablet, 3 ft. by 2 ft. 4 ins., with an inscription in a sunk panel flanked by standing amorino supporters. The stone, broken in two pieces, was built into All Saints' Church, North Street (see Burials, IV Region, (j), i); the right-hand piece was there exposed to weathering since the 17th century; the left-hand was concealed until 1931 and thus preserved in good order. The two are now joined in the Yorkshire Museum.
▵ D(IS) ▵ M(ANIBVS) ▵
EGLE▵CTAE ▵ AN(NORVM)
XXX ▵ H(IC) ▵ S(ITAE) ▵ SEC(VNDIO) ▵
CRESCENTE▵ M(ARCI)
F(ILIO) ▵ AN(NORVM) ▵ III ▵ ANTI▵O(NIVS) ▵
STHE▵PAN(VS) ▵ CONI▵VGI ▵
▵ F(ACIVNDVM) ▵ C(VRAVIT) ▵
'To the spirits of the departed. To Eglecta, 30 years old, laid here; to Secundius Crescens, son of Marcus, 3 years old; Antonius Stephanus had (this) made for his wife.' Marcus was presumably the praenomen of Antonius Stephanus, whose cognomen the mason, or the writer of his copy, has found difficult to spell. CIL, 254; JRS, XXII (1932), 225, pl. XLIV; YMH, 61; YAJ, XXX (1930), 420.
(77) Tombstone (Plate 54. Fig. 83), of gritstone, rectangular, 2 ft. 11 ins. by 5 ft. 8 ins. by 10 ins. A moulded rectangular frame encloses an aedicula with spiral columns and a double-headed niche; in the spandrels at the head are stylised roses. The relief shows Caeresius and Flavia Augustina standing side by side with two sons in front; all wear cloaks. The parents each carries a scroll, while each child grasps a ball. The inscription is in a simple moulded panel below. Found in 1859, reused as a lid for coffin No. 103, on the Driffield Estate, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m), vi).
D(IS) · M(ANIBVS) · FLAVIAE AVGVSTINAE ·
VIXIT · AN(NOS) · XXXVIIII · M(ENSES) · VII · D(IES) · XI · FILIVS
S... NI·VS AVGVSTINVS · VIXIT AN(NVM) · I D(IES) III
.....VIXIT · AN(NVM) I · M(ENSES) VIIII D(IES) V CAERESIVS
.... INVS VET(ERANVS) LEG(IONIS) VI VIC(TRICIS) CONIVGI CARI
SSIMAE ET · SIBI · F(ACIVNDVM) · C(VRAVIT) ·
'To the spirits of the departed. To Flavia Augustina. She lived 39 years, 7 months, 11 days. Her son,.... nius Augustinus, lived 1 year 3 days, .... lived 1 year, 9 months, 5 days. Caeresius [August]inus, veteran of the Sixth Legion Victorious, had (this stone) made for his dearest wife and himself.' The inscription is not well preserved, and the letters have been painted in red in modern times, not always correctly. The text here given is based upon careful examination of the incised strokes. The children in the relief are represented as older than their stated ages. On the sinister side of the stone, near the top, a mason's square and a hammer are incised. CIL, 245; YMH, 51; YPSR (1859), 13, 29; Gents. Mag. (1860), pt. I, 52.
(78) Tomb Tablet (Plate 51), of gritstone, rectangular, 3 ft. 9 ins. by 2 ft. 5 ins. by 11 ins., with an inscription in a moulded panel. Found in 1927 in Rawcliffe Lane, Clifton (N.G. 59055342) (see Burials, III Region, (g)): the site is marked on the 6 ins. Ordnance Survey, Sheet S.E. 55 S.E.
D(IS) M(ANIBVS)
T(ITI) · FL(AVI) · FLAVINI ∃ · LEG(IONIS) · VIC(TRICIS)
CLASSICIVS APRILIS HERES
PRIVSQUAM OBIRET
FIERI ❧ IVSSIT
'To the spirits of the departed. (The tomb) of Titus Flavius Flavinus, centurion of the (Sixth) Legion Victorious. Classicius Aprilis, his heir, ordered it to be made before Flavinus died.' The omission of VI before vic(tricis) is presumably due to haplography. For Classicius Aprilis, see No. 143 below. This tablet would be walled into a built monumental tomb. JRS, XVII (1927), 213; YPSR (1927), 24.
(79) Tombstone (Plate 51. Fig. 84) of gritstone, 1 ft. 4 ins. by 4 ft. 6 ins. by 1 ft. It appears to have been cut out of a rounded pillar of stone, the base being left round in order to fix the tombstone firmly in the ground. The gabled head contains an elaborate rosette in the tympanum; the inscription below is in a sunk and moulded panel. Found under the present York Railway Station in 1875 (see Burials, IV Region, (e)).
HYLLO ❧ / ALVMNO / CARISSIMO / . . . . . VI/
'To Hyllus dearest foster-child.....' There are indications that a fifth line of lettering formerly existed. EE, III, 82; YMH, 59; YPS Comms. (1875), 3.
(80) Tombstone (Plate 54. Fig. 84) of gritstone, 2 ft. 1 in. by 5 ft. 10½ ins. by 8 ins. In a round-headed niche, within a shaped frame, stands Julia Brica, cloaked and holding in her left hand an urn steadied with her right. Sempronia Martina, similarly dressed, stands on her mother's right, clasping a pet bird. Below is the inscription in a simple moulded panel. Found in 1892 under The Mount Hotel (N.G. 59555124) with No. 92 (see Burials, IV Region, (1)).
D(IS) ❧ M(ANIBVS)
IVLIE ❧ BRICE ❧ AN(NORVM) ▵ XXXI
SE(M)PRONIE ▵ ▵MARTINE ▵ ▵AN(NORVM) ▵ VI
SE(M)PRONI▵VS ▵MARTINVS ▵ F(ACIVNDVM) ▵ C(VRAVIT)
'To the spirits of the departed, for Julia Brica, 31 years old and for Sempronia Martina, 6 years old, Sempronius Martinus had (this stone) made.' EE, IX, 1117; YPSR (1892), 7.
(81) Tombstone fragment (Fig. 84), of gritstone, 1 ft. by 1 ft. 4 ins. by 6 ins., comprising the bottom of the relief and part of the first two lines of the inscription, together with the left-hand top corner of the die. The relief shows on the left a pet dog crouching left and, on the right, the lower part of a bust of Julia Secunda, holding another creature now indistinguishable. From the Driffield Estate, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m)).
IVL(IAE) ▵ SECVN/DAE ▵ VOCO . .
CIL, 256; YMH, 53.
(82) Tombstone (Plate 55), of gritstone, rectangular, 3 ft. 3 ins. by 4 ft. 9 ins. by 9 ins. An architectural frame encloses a round-headed niche in which is a relief of a funeral feast; in the spandrels are pine-cones. Below the relief is the inscription in a simple moulded sunk panel. The central figure of the relief is Julia Velva, whose head, with hair parted in the middle, and torso are alone visible, reclining on a couch and propping her head on her left arm, which rests on a cushion. She holds a wine jar in her right hand. The couch has a very thick mattress, high sides and legs knobbed at the top but otherwise plain. In front of the couch, left to right, are shown a young girl seated on a basket chair and clasping a pet bird, a three-legged table on which are dishes of food, a boy standing with his right hand on the table and holding a jug in his left, while Aurelius Mercurialis, bearded, stands in front of a larger table with claw feet, and holds a scroll in his right hand. Found in 1922, in making Albemarle Road, 15 yds. from The Mount (N.G. 59425102) (see also No. 84 and Burials, IV Region, (1)).
D(IS) M(ANIBVS)
IVLIE ▵ VEL▵VE ▵ PIENTISSI
ME ▵ VIXIT ▵ AN(NOS) ▵ L ▵ AVREL(IVS)
MERCVRIALIS ▵ ▵HER(ES) ▵ FACI
VNDVM ▵ CVRAV▵IT ▵ VIVVS
SIBI ▵ ET ▵ SVIS ▵ FECIT
'To the spirits of the departed and to Julia Velva. She lived 50 years, most dutifully. Aurelius Mercurialis, her heir, had (this tombstone) made. He made it while alive for himself and his family.' JRS, XI(1921), 235–6; YPSR (1922), 61; Yorkshire Post, 12 July, 20 Oct. 1922.
(83) Tombstone fragment (Plate 50. Fig. 84), of limestone, 1 ft. 2 ins. by 9 ins. by 4 ins., with a scalloped top edge. The stone is broken down the left side and across the fourth line of the inscription. Found S.E. of the present York Railway Station, 1874 (see Burials, IV Region, (c)).
MEMORIAE ▵
. . .] OBASSAEI ▵ IVLI ▵
ET FE]LICIS ▵ FILI ▵ SVI
... D]VLCISSI[MI
'To the memory of ... obassaeus Julius and of Felix his very sweet son .....' EE, III, 81, VII, 930; YMH, 58; YPS Comms. (1875), 2. For Julius as a cognomen, see ILS, III, p. 206; the form of ... obassaeus suggests an Eastern name, of the type of Monobassaeus.
(84) Tombstone (Plates 51, 55. Fig. 84), of gritstone, 2 ft. 5 ins. by 6 ft. 2 ins. by 6 ins., now broken in two across the inscription. A plain flat-topped frame encloses a round-headed niche hung with two swags of laurel; in the niche the deceased reclines on a high-backed couch with mattress and baluster legs, holding a cup in her left hand. In front is a small table, with three cabriole legs, and a boy, standing left, holding a jug and a cantharus, or two-handled wine-cup. The D.M. is in the spandrels above the niche; the rest of the inscription, in a sunk panel with a moulded frame, comes below. Found in 1922 at the same place as No. 82 but at a lower level (N.G. 59425102) (see Burials, IV Region, (l)).
D(IS) M(ANIBVS)
MANTIAE▵ ET▵ ▵ TAET
RICAE ▵ ET▵ CANDIAE
EIVS▵ MATRI ▵ BARITAE
CALPVRNIVS ▵ SIMI[L]IS
TITVLVM ▵ POSIVT
'To the spirits of the departed and for Mantia and Taetrica and her mother, Candida Barita, Calpurnius Similis set up this inscription.' Posiut is an error for posuit. JRS, XI (1921), 235–6; YPSR (1922), 61.
(85) Tombstone fragment, (Plate 50), of gritstone, 2 ft. 6 ins. by 3 ft. 1 in. by 8 ins., comprising the major part of the sculptured top. An architectural frame enclosed a niche, but the upper part is broken away. In the niche is carved a man wearing a cloak, tunic and sandals, facing forward with a staff in his right hand and a roll in his left. By his left side stands a boy also wearing a cloak and tunic, his right hand grasping the man's cloak and his left holding a case of tablets. The head of the man too is broken away. Found in 1839, when making the archway for the railway through the City Walls by the old Railway Station (N.G. 59695162) (see Burials, IV Region, (a)). D(IS)] M(ANIBVS)/ .... 'To the spirits of the departed ....'. CIL, 257; YMH, 62; York Courant, 13 June 1839; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 115, pl. XIV.
Inscribed fragments
(86) Tombstone fragments (Plate 52), two, of gritstone, adjacent and measuring together 1 ft. 9 ins. by 1 ft. 4 ins. by 7 ins. The inscription is in a moulded panel, with a small relief of a porpoise in the field above. From the Driffield Estate, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m)). D(IS)] ▵ M(ANIBVS)/ .... ABINIA. CIL, 259c, d; YMH, 59.
(87) Tombstone fragment (Plate 52. Fig. 85), of gritstone, 1 ft. 8½ ins. by 1 ft. 3½ ins. by 5½ ins., with relief above and inscription below, both in panels with simple moulded frames. Of the relief only the end of a scroll or piece of strapwork remains, and part of the M of D.M., of the inscription only the end of the first and second lines. Found on the Driffield Estate, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m)). D(IS)] M(ANIBVS)/ ...... VIVS ▵ FE/ ....... VS/ ..... CIL, 259; YMH, 62.
(88) Tombstone fragments (Plate 52. Fig. 85), two, of gritstone, 1 ft. 1 in. by 1 ft. and 1 ft. 4 ins. by 1 ft. 8 ins., both by 7 ins., with the inscription in a sunk panel with a moulded frame. From the Driffield Estate (Driffield and Dalton Terraces) on the N.W. side of The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m)).
D(IS)] M(ANIBVS)
MA]NLIVS
... FIL ...] CRESCE(N)S
... ....]A ▵ VET(ERANVS)
LEG(IONIS) [VI] VIC(TRICIS)
CA .......
PRI ......
ET M ...
'To the spirits of the departed.... Manlius Crescens, son of..., from ... ..... a, veteran of the Sixth Legion Victorious, Ca . . . Pri. . . . and M. . .' There is hardly room for the tribe as well as the filiation of Crescens, and his origo must have been a short name, such as Parma. The two names below are presumably the nomen and cognomen of one heir followed by et, which would introduce the name of another. CIL, 259a; EE, III, 79; YMH, 51.
(89) Tombstone fragment, seen by Dr. Gale in a wall beyond Micklegate Bar, on the way to The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (k), i); now lost. D(IS) M(ANIBVS)/ MINNE 'To the spirits of the departed. To Minna.' CIL, 252; T. Gale. Antonini Iter (1709), 23; F. Drake, Eboracum (1736), 56.
(90) Tombstone fragment (Plate 52), squared for re-use as a mediaeval building stone, 1 ft. 5 ins. by 10 ins. by 9½ ins. Found in 1865, in Clementhorpe, near the site of St. Clement's Nunnery (N.G. 60275110) (see Burials, V Region, (b)).
.... FIL(..) V(IXIT) AN(NOS) XIII ...
VITELLIA PRO
CVLA MATER
P(IENTISSIME) P(OSVIT) L(IBERO) ...
'.... child, lived 13 years. Vitellia Procula, the mother, most dutifully set up (this tombstone) for her child.' At the end of the inscription mediaeval stonemasons have added the letters A M, for Ave Maria and a Cross, to hallow the heathen inscription. The sex of the child concerned remains uncertain. CIL, 255; YPSR (1865), 24; Gents. Mag. (1866), pt. I, 63.
(91) Tomb Tablet fragment (Plate 52), of gritstone, 2 ft. 4 ins. by 2 ft. 7 ins. by 8 ins., with the inscription in a moulded panel, bordered by ansae designed in a variant pelta-pattern with goose-head terminals. Found in 1852 at Driffield Terrace, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m), vii).
.... O ▵ C(AII) ▵ FIL(IO) ▵
CL(AVDIA TRIBV DOMO) N]O▵VARIA ▵
.... LEG(IONIS) I]X ▵ HISP(ANAE) ▵ HERE
DES LIB(ERTI)] PATRONO
BENE MER]ENTI ▵ FECERVNT
'To .... son of Caius, of the Claudian tribe from Novaria .... of the Ninth Legion Hispana. His freedmen heirs made (this tomb) for a well deserving patron.' The voting-tribe of Novaria was the tribus Claudia. There is no room on the stone for a cognomen, and this is an example of its absence after A.D. 70. CIL, 244; YMH, 50; York Herald, 12 June 1852.
(92) Tombstone base (Fig. 85), 1 ft. 5 ins. by 2 ft. 4 ins. by 7 ins., with the inscription in a deeply recessed panel with a chamfered edge. Found with No. 80 under The Mount Hotel (see Burials,IV Region, (l)).
CONIV]GI ▵
IVCVNDISSIMAE ▵
F(ECIT) S(IBI) Q(VE) ▵ S(IT) T(IBI) ▵ T(ERRA) ▵ L(EVIS) ..... made this for his very sweet wife and himself. May the earth lie light upon thee!' EE, IX, 1118; YPSR (1892), 7.
(93) Tombstone fragment, of limestone, 9 ins. square, with the end of the last two lines of the inscription. Found in 1877 in Scarcroft Road, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (l)).
.... FACIVNDVM] CVR
AVIT] D(E) S(VA) P(ECVNIA)
'.... had it made at his own expense.' EE, III, 182; YMH, 62; YPSR (1877), 9, 40.
(94) Tomb Tablet fragment (Fig. 85), cut down to a semicircular block for mediaeval architectural re-use. IN ❧ HO[C MONVMENTO .... 'In this monument ....' Part of a formula asserting conditions of burial or of exclusion. Unpublished.
Tombstone fragment, see Burials, IV Region, (l), viii.
Reliefs and sculptured fragments only
(95) Tombstone (Plate 53), of gritstone, 2 ft. 6 ins. by 3 ft. 10 ins. by 7 ins., the inscribed lower part missing. In a niche, formed by a shouldered arch and architectural frame, stands a male figure, wearing a tunic and cloak and holding in his left hand a scroll, in his right a vine branch, symbol of a centurion. The feet are broken away. In the spandrels of the arch are rosettes and above its crown is a bull's head with sacrificial fillets. There are mortice holes in each side of the stone, for fixing it into a monument. Found in 1852 in Driffield Terrace at a depth of 3 ft. to 4 ft. (see Burials, IV Region, (m), vii). YMH, 50; York Herald, 12 June 1852.
(96) Tombstone (Plate 53), of gritstone, 1 ft. 7 ins. by 3 ft. 5 ins. by 6½ ins. In an arched niche, with an architectural gabled frame, stands a smith, his left shoulder draped, his right bare, wearing an apron round his loins over a tunic. His left hand holds an object on an anvil with tongs, while his right forges it with a hammer. In the spandrels of the arch are scrolls, and at its head a goblet flanked by two rosettes. Found in the grounds of the Manor House, Dringhouses, near the line of the Roman road (Road 10), in 1860 (see Burials, IV Region, (q)). YMH, 64; YPSR (1860), 10, 33.
(97) Tombstone, of gristone, in two fragments cemented together, 2 ft. 10 ins. by 4 ft. 8 ins. by 9 ins.; no inscription survives. A plain frame encloses a double-arched niche in which stand a bearded man and his wife, with a child at their feet between them.
All three wear the toga. It is now in St. Martin's church, Micklegate; both fragments were built into the tower until 1905, but the carving on the upper fragment was not visible (see Burials, IV Region, (j), i). F. Drake saw and illustrated the lower part (Eboracum (1736), pl. VIII, fig. 11). YPSR (1904), pl. I, fig. 1.
(98) Tombstone fragment (Plate 54), of gritstone, 1 ft. 10 ins. by 1 ft. 10 ins. by 6 ins., with part of a relief of a funeral banquet. The deceased, wearing a bracelet on the left arm, and a cloak pinned with a fan-tail brooch, reclines on a couch with mattress, high back and baluster legs; she holds a jar in her left hand. In front of the couch is a table with three curved legs, to left of which is part of a damaged figure. Probably from York. YMH, 57.
(99) Tombstone fragment (Plate 54), of gritstone, 10 ins. by 12 ins. by 4 ins., with part of a relief showing a leg from below the knee with a sandalled foot. The attitude suggests a rider and the object with two borders behind the leg may be a saddle-cloth. Found before 1860 in Driffield Terrace or Dalton Terrace, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m)). YMH, 69.
(100) Tombstone fragment, 1 ft. 10 ins. wide and about half as high, with a relief of a man, from the waist to the knee, holding a tablet. The stone is now lost but was described by C. Wellbeloved (Eburacum (1842), 115, and illustrated pl. XIV, fig. 1) as having been 'seen by Mr. J. Browne, some years ago, lying on a heap of stones by the road side, without Micklegate Bar' (see Burials, IV Region, (k), i).
(101) Tombstone fragment, of gritstone, 15 ins. by 2 ft., with the upper part of a relief with a male figure. Observed in the 18th century built into St. Lawrence's churchyard wall (see Burials, I Region, (d)); given to the Yorkshire Museum in 1881 but not there now. YMH, 40; F. Drake, Eboracum, 60, pl. VIII, fig. 9.
(102) Tombstone fragment, of gritstone, 1 ft. by 1 ft. 9 ins. by 9 ins., with a relief of a draped figure, but the stone is damaged and much weathered. It is possibly the right of the two stones illustrated by F. Drake (Eboracum, pl. VIII, fig. 12), and is now in Holy Trinity, Micklegate; the other larger stone on the left, a fragment of which survives in St. Martin's church, Micklegate, is not Roman. (See Burials, IV Region, (j), i.).
Sarcophagi:—
(103) Coffin (Plate 57. Fig. 86), of gritstone, 7 ft. 4 ins. by 2 ft. 3 ins. by 2 ft. 4 ins. The inscription is contained in a moulded panel on the long side of the coffin, flanked by the letters D. and M. each beyond bracket-like scrolls. Found in 1859, in Dalton Terrace (N.G. 59355108) (see Burials, IV Region, (m), vi). The coffin had been reused for a male burial in gypsum, and the tombstone of Flavia Augustina (see No. 77) formed its lid. The lettering showed traces of original red paint, now blotted out by a modern substitute.
D(IS) M(ANIBVS)
AEL(IE) ▵ SEVERE HONESTE FEMINE
CONIVGI CAEC(ILII) RVFI QVOND(AM)
V(IXIT) AN(NOS) XXVII ▵ M(ENSES) ▵ VIIII ▵ D(IES) ▵ IIII ▵ CAEC(ILIVS ▵
MVSICVS ▵ LIB(ERTVS) E(I)VS ▵ P(OSVIT) ▵
'To the spirits of the departed (and) to the good lady Aelia Severa, once the wife of Caecilius Rufus. She lived 27 years 9 months and 4 days. Caecilius Musicus his freedman placed (this monument).' Mommsen (Strafrecht, 1035, 5) observes that honesta femina might apply to the wife or daughter of a decurion. CIL, 249; YMH, 57; YPSR (1859), 13, 29, 32.
(104) Coffin (Plate 56), of gritstone, 7 ft. 5 ins. by 2 ft. by 2 ft. 3 ins., with a gabled lid 7 ft. 5 ins. by 10 ins. by 2 ft. 5 ins. Lid and coffin had originally been clamped together, as is shown by the matching slots on the ends of each. It was found in 1835, in making a drain across the Castle Yard, at a depth of 7 ft. to 8 ft. at the point marked on the 60 ins. O.S. (1853), Sheet 12 (N.G. 60525147), orientated N.N.W. (see Burials, I Region, (a), v). This depth, compared with the Roman level in adjacent excavations, indicates that the coffin was buried below Roman ground-level; thus the inscription would have been invisible and this in turn suggests secondary use, as with No. 107 (q.v.). It contained a male skeleton. A second coffin, uninscribed, lay parallel and adjacent. Cut on the lid is D(IS) M(ANIBVS) in large letters: 'To the spirits of the departed'. The main inscription is cut in smaller letters in a sunk panel on the face of the long side of the coffin.
AVR(ELIO) ▵ SVPERO ▵ CENT(VRIONI)
LEG(IONIS) · VI QVI VIXIT AN(N)IS
XXXVIII M(ENSES) IIII D(IES) XIII AVRE
LIA CENSORINA COIVNX
MEMORIAM POSSVIT
'To Aurelius Super, centurion of the Sixth Legion, who lived 38 years, 4 months, 13 days, Aurelia Censorina his wife placed (this) memorial.' Solecisms are anis for annis, the metathetical coiunx for coniux and possuit for posuit, as on No. 107. CIL, 246; YMH, 52; Gents. Mag. (1836), pt. I, 182; J. J. Sheahan and T. Whellan, York and the E. Riding (1855), I, 305; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum (1842), 110, pl. XII.
(105) Coffin (Fig. 86), of gritstone, 6 ft. 11 ins. by 2 ft. 4 ins. by 2 ft. 5 ins., much damaged, with a gabled lid, 9 ins. high, carrying the letters D.M. The inscription on the coffin is in an ansate champlevé panel. Found in 1872, near Scarborough Bridge (N.G. 59655200) (see Burials, IV Region, (f), ix).
D(IS) M(ANIBVS)
FLAVI ▵ BELLATORIS ▵ DEC(VRIONIS) ▵ COL(ONIAE) ▵ EBORACENS(IS)
VIXIT ▵ ANNIS XXVIIII ▵ MENS(E) ▵ I .... M(A)TER
CA[R]ISSIM[O FILIO
'To the spirits of the departed. (The coffin) of Flavius Bellator, decurion of the colonia of York; he lived for 29 years and 1 month. His mother for her dearest son ....' The third line of the text is largely illegible, and there appears to have been a fourth, though nothing of it can now be read. For other epigraphic evidence for York as a colonia, see No. 110 and an altar from Bordeaux (JRS, XI (1921), 102). A gold ring set with a ruby was found on the decurion's finger. EE, III, 80; YMH, 53; YPSR (1872), 9, (1890), 32; YPS Comms. (1873), 1.
(106) Coffin (Plate 57), of gritstone, 7 ft. by 1 ft. 10 ins. by 2 ft. 4 ins., with a gabled lid 9 ins. high. The inscription is on the front of the coffin in a moulded panel flanked by elaborate pelta-like insignia. Found in 1877 20 yds. N.W. of No. 105, near Scarborough Bridge (see Burials, IV Region, (g), i).
IVL(IE) ▵ FORTVNATE ▵ DOMO
SARDINIA ▵ VEREC(VNDIO) ▵ DIO
GENI FIDA CONIVNCTA MARITO
'To Julia Fortunata of Sardinia, faithful wife to her husband Verecundius Diogenes.' For the coffin of Verecundius Diogenes, the husband of Julia Fortunata, see No. 110 below. EE, III, 183; YMH, 56; YPSR (1877), 9; YPS Comms. (1877), 38.
(107) Coffin (Plates 56, 59), of millstone grit, 7 ft. 4 ins. by 1 ft. 11 ins. by 2 ft. 6 ins., with a gabled lid 12½ ins. high. The inscription is in a sunk panel on the face with ansae in the form of diminutive peltae flanked by elegant, lightly draped amorini, each holding the pelta in one hand and an upright torch in the other. In the top corners of the border of the panel are cut D(IS) M(ANIBVS). The coffin had been reused to contain the gypsum burial of an adult male, while its elaborately carved and inscribed face had been buried in the sand and clay subsoil. Found in 1956, in Castle Yard (N.G. 60525147), a few yards from the site of No. 104 (see Burials, I Region, (a), ii).
ET MAEMORIAE · IVLIAE · VICTORINE
QUAE VIXIT ANNOS XXVIIII MENSES II · DIES · XV ·
ET CONSTANTIO QVI · VIXIT · ANNOS IIII · DIES XXI
MENSES · XI · SEPTIMIVS · LVPIANVS C O EX EVOC(ATVS)
CONIVGI · ET F[I]LIO MEMORIAM · POSSVIT ·
'To the spirits of the departed and to the memory of Julia Victorina, who lived 29 years, 2 months, 15 days, and to Constantius, who lived 4 years, 21 days, 11 months, Septimius Lupianus, centurion, ex evocatus, placed this memorial to his wife and son.' Maemoriae: this spelling occurs elsewhere, but is not repeated when the word is used again. For the spelling possuit see also No. 104. Centurio ex evocatus: when called back to service after serving his full time as a soldier in the Praetorian Guard or Urban Cohorts, Lupianus was promoted to the legionary centurionate. The fundamental study of evocatio is by Mommsen, EE, V, 142–59. JRS, XLVII (1957), 227; YAJ, XXXIX (1958), 400.
(108) Coffin (Plate 56), of gritstone, 4 ft. by 1 ft. 10 ins. by 1 ft. 4½ ins. with a ridged lid 9 ins. high. Matching recesses indicate where the lid had originally been clamped. The coffin when found, N.W. of The Mount, on the railway line S. of Holgate railway bridge (N.G. 59155120), had been reused for the burial of a child older than the inscription indicates (see Burials, IV Region, (m), xviii).
D(IS) M(ANIBVS) SIMPLICIAE ▵ FLORENTIN(A)E
ANIME ▵ INNOCENTISSIME
QV(A)E ▵ VIXIT MENSES DECEM
FELICIVS ▵ SIMPLEX ▵ > PATER FECIT
LEG(IONIS) ▵ VI ▵ V(ICTRICIS)
'To the spirits of the departed. For Simplicia Florentina, a most innocent soul, who lived 10 months, Felicius Simplex, her father, of the Sixth Legion Victorious, made (this memorial).' The LEG · VI · V has been added to the inscription as an after-thought in a much less monumental style of lettering, a centurial sign being added before PATER. CIL, 247; YMH, 52; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum (1842), 111, pl. XII; York Courant, 7 June 1838.
(109) Coffin (Plate 57. Fig. 86), of gritstone, very much broken, 6 ft. 10 ins. by 2 ft. 3 ins. by 2 ft. 3 ins. Found at the beginning of the 19th century between The Mount and Driffield Terrace (see Burials, IV Region, (m), ii).
MEM(ORIAE) [V]AL(ERI) ▵ THEODORI
ANI ▵ [N]OMENT(O) ▵ VIXIT ▵ ANN(OS) ▵
XXXV ▵ M(ENSES) ▵ VI ▵ EMI ▵ THEO
DORA ▵ MATER ▵ E(IVS) ▵ C(AVSA) ▵
'To the memory of Valerius Theodorianus, of Nomentum. He lived 35 years, 6 months: I, Theodora his mother, bought (this coffin) for his sake.' A fragment of another inscribed stone now supports the left-hand end of the coffin, see No. 17. CIL, 253; YMH, 60; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum (1842), 110, pl. XII.
(110) Coffin, now lost, with inscription last seen and read in the 18th century at Hull, when the stone was in use as a horsetrough at the Coach and Horses Inn. Found in 1579, ¼ mile or less W. of the City Walls (British Museum MS., Cotton Julius FX, f. 137, quoted CIL, 248); this vague description is not inconsistent with the position of his wife's coffin, No. 106, near Scarborough Bridge (see Burials, IV Region, (g), ii).
M(ARCVS) VEREC(VNDIVS) DIOGENES SEVIR COL(ONIAE)
EBOR(ACENSIS) IBIDEMQV(E) MORT(VVS) CIVES BITVRIX
CVBVS · HAEC SIBI VIVVS FECIT
'Marcus Verecundius Diogenes sevir of the colonia of York, who died in that same place, a citizen of the Bituriges Cubi. He made these for himself while alive.' Sevir, member of a priestly college of six, charged with Emperor-worship in the colonia, an office usually held by rich freedmen. Colonia Eboracensis: for other epigraphic evidence for York as a colonia see No. 105 and JRS, XI (1921), 102. Biturix Cubus: The Bituriges, a Gallic tribe, were divided into Bituriges Cubi and Bituriges Vivisci, with cantonal capitals at Avaricum (Bourges) and Burdigala (Bordeaux) respectively. Haec: the plural presumably includes the tomb and its furnishings. CIL, 248; W. Camden, Britannia (1586), 408; T. Gale, Antonini Iter (1709), 24; J. Horsley, Britannia Romana (1732), 316; W. C. Lukis, 'Diaries and Letters of Wm. Stukeley', III, xi, 300, Surtees Society Publications, 80 (1885); F. Drake, Eboracum (1736), 55.
(111) Coffin, of gritstone, 7 ft. 5 ins. by 1 ft. 11 ins. by 2 ft. 4 ins., with a ridged lid 8 ins. high. Found on the site of the present Railway Station in 1873 and now preserved in the entrance to St. Leonard's Hospital in Museum Gardens (see Burials, IV Region, (f), iv). On the lid is cut D(IS) M(ANIBVS); on the side is a blank sunk panel for an inscription. In re-use of the coffin, the lid had been reversed. YMH, 12. In form this coffin is typical of several found in York without the DM; others of like form lack even the inscription-panel.
(112) Coffin fragment (Plate 56), relief of gritstone, 11½ ins. by 17 ins. by 4 ins., from the right-hand edge of the front. A naked amorino, with feathered wings, turns half right, with arms poised to support the ansa or pelta bordering an inscribed panel now missing. Found in 1860, near The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (l)). YMH, 70; Cook MS. in the Yorkshire Museum, frontispiece.
Statues etc.:—
(113) Head (Plate 58), of a woman, life size 10 ins. high, in limestone; the nose damaged. Her hair is parted in the middle, waved, drawn back over the ears and turned up behind in a chignon, a style fashionable in the middle of the 3rd century A.D. It was probably from a funerary monument. Found in Fishergate, in 1882 (see Burials, I Region, (b)). YMH, 68.
(114) Head, of a woman, almost life size, in gritstone; very worn. It is built into the eaves of No. 86 The Mount (N.G. 59525123) (see Burials, IV Region, (l)). Probably from a funerary statue. Discovery unrecorded.
(115) Head (Plate 49), of a man, half life size 6 ins. high, in limestone, blackened. The curly hair is bound with a ribbon or wreath. A round hole, 1 in. in diameter and 1½ ins. deep, is bored into the crown of the head. From the Cook Collection. Found in Trinity Gardens, Micklcgate, probably in 1857.
(116) Head (Plate 63), of a man, slightly smaller than life size, 7 ins. by 5 ins., in limestone; it is broken off just below the nose. The work is vigorously carved; the protuberant ears, prominent high cheek-bones, and hair swept to a fringe are reminiscent of the style and period of the tombstone of Duccius Rufinus (No. 75). Found on Driffield Estate, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m)). It was probably from a funerary monument. YMH, 68.
(117) Bust (Plate 62), of a man, approximately life size 18 ins. high, in gritstone. It is heavily weathered, but has the look of a portrait-bust. Found on Driffield Estate, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m)). It was probably from a funerary monument. YMH, 68.
(118) Statue fragment (Plate 62), in gritstone, comprising the crudely carved head of a man nearly twice life size, 1 ft. 8 ins. high; the nose is broken off. The features, much weathered and broken, are carved on a concave face. It was probably from a funerary monument. Found in 1874 under the Royal Station Hotel (see Burials, IV Region, (c)). YMH, 68.
(119) Head (Plate 58), of a woman, nearly life size 9 ins. high, in white marble and of fine quality. The hair is braided. The provenance is doubtful. It was given to the Yorkshire Museum in 1833 and may as well have been a 19th-century import into York as a Roman one. YMH, 137.
(120) Sphinx (Plate 62), funerary, of gritstone, 1 ft. 3 ins. by 2 ft. 6 ins. by 1 ft. 8 ins. The creature is conceived as a nude crouched female, with melancholy upward gaze half-left. Her hair hangs in six tresses, divided over the shoulders and back. The breasts are prominent, and wings and a long tail complete the figure. The hands and feet are missing, together with the front of the pedestal. There is no inscription, contrary to previous fancy. Found in 1852, in Driffield Terrace, The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (m), vii). YMH, 70; York Herald, 12 June 1852.
(121) Fragment (Plate 48), comprising the curled tail of a marine monster, of gritstone, 2 ft. 3 ins. by 1 ft. 6 ins. by 7 ins., on a flat pedestal. Found in Driffield Terrace or Dalton Terrace before 1860 (see Burials, IV Region, (m)). YMH, 70.
(122) Sphinx (?), of gritstone, 2 ft. 3 ins. by 1 ft. 2 ins., a crouched beast with wings and a long tail (Plate 63); the head is missing. Found, with Nos. 126, 127, 135, in 1835 at Bootham Bar, and probably reused in the 4th-century rebuilding of the N.W. gate of the fortress. YMH, 70.
(123) Fragments, two, of carved lions, both of gritstone (Plate 63). (a) 2 ft. 3 ins. by 1 ft., consisting of the body and head, the feet and underbelly missing. Found in 1873 during the Railway excavations (see Burials, IV Region, (f), vii). No doubt this creature decorated a tomb or its precinct. YMH, 69. (b) head only, 1 ft. 3 ins. by 8½ ins., with fangs bared; very worn. Probably from York. YMH, 69.
Architectural Sculptures:—
(124) Relief (Plate 62), of gritstone, 2 ft. 6 ins. by 3 ft. 6 ins. by 7 ins., broken off at the base. A niche contains the figure of Atys, in Phrygian dress, resting his head on his left hand in mourning, and grasping a shepherd's crook with his right hand across the body. The figure was one of a matching pair, probably flanking the entrance of a tomb monument. Found in 1927, in the garden of No. 75 The Mount, on the corner of Park Street and The Mount (see Burials, IV Region, (l)). YPSR (1927), 24; YPS Procs. (1928), 7, pl. 1; JRS, XVII (1927), 190.
(125) Plaque (Plate 48), of gritstone, 2 ft. 4 ins. by 2 ft. 4 ins. by 8 ins. A round frame or clipeus, formed by a wreath, encloses a bust, or imago clipeata. The face has been mutilated, but the well-carved drapery and shoulders are preserved. Found near Micklegate Bar in 1904 (see Burials, IV Region, (k), i). G. Benson, York I, 18.
(126) Relief (Plate 64), funerary, of gritstone, 2 ft. 3 ins. by 1 ft. 6 ins. by 7 ins., part of a large slab. The top edge of the stone exhibits a well-carved moulding. Below is a Triton in relief. His right hand holds his conch-shell trumpet to his mouth, his left a trident. His long tail, with three twists, has two fins and ends in a porpoise-like fluke. Found, with Nos. 122, 127, 135, in 1835 near Bootham Bar. The stone, which comes from a monumental tomb, was probably reused in the 4th century in rebuilding the N.W. gate of the fortress. YMH, 70; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 51, pl. V.
(127) Relief (Plate 61), sepulchral, of gritstone, 2 ft. 10 ins. by 1 ft. 3 ins. by 1 ft. 7 ins.; the fore part of the stone, which bears a relief on its outer face, is reduced in width by 2 ins. at either side to a depth of 7 ins. The relief shows Neptune in his four-horse sea-chariot, with an attendant supporter on the left. It was found at Bootham Bar in 1835 and had probably been reused like the preceding stone and Nos. 122, 135 to rebuild the N.W. gate of the fortress in the 4th century. YMH, 70; C Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 51, pl. V.
(128) Relief (Plate 64), a block of gritstone, 1 ft. 5 ins. by 10 ins. by 8 ins. It is well carved and shows a male figure, naked save for a small cloak, leading a horse by a short bridle to the right. A tree forms a separating motif from a vanished scene to right. Found before 1884, in the City Wall, near the garden of Gray's Court. The figure might be one of the Dioscuri. YMH, 70.
(129) Relief (Plate 64), sepulchral, a block of gritstone, 2 ft. 10 ins. by 1 ft. 5 ins. by 1 ft. 5 ins., carved to show a branching tree-trunk and a dog looking up at a horse. This stone once formed part of a larger scene in relief and has been cut down for building. Found in June 1839, built into a buttress of the City Wall, and removed when building the N. arch across the railway at the Old Station (see Burials, IV Region, (a)). YMH, 69; York Courant, 13 June 1839; W. Hargrove, New Guide . . . . York, (1844), 25–6.
(130) Head (Plate 61), of a young man, of gritstone, 10 ins. by 1 ft. 8 ins., freestanding and set diagonally on a square base and derived from the corner of a tomb or its precinct-wall. His hair is swept back in tongue-like locks, with the base of a tongue-like feather at the apex, indicating that the figure was one of the Winds. Found in 1879, in Castlegate (NG. 60505155) (see Burials, I Region, (a)). The inscription, on the two adjacent faces below the head, reads, on the left D(IS) M(ANIBVS) and, on the right, C(ONSECRATVM) E(ST) 'This is consecrated to the spirits of the departed.' EE, VII, 932; YMH, 63.
(131) Altar-tomb fragments, nine, of limestone, found in 1878 in the garden of the Royal Station Hotel (see Burials, IV Region, (c)). The tomb was freestanding, with panelled front and sides and an inscription in elegant lettering. The pieces include: (a) a bolster, with a left hand upon it and a rosetteornamented end, from the altar top; (b) the top left-hand corner of the moulded die, uninscribed; the following with the letters indicated, (c) a moulded fragment from the top line, T F; (d) from the left-hand side, S A; (e) from the central area, SIV; (f) from the central area, A I, with a vertical in the line below followed by a leaf-stop; (g) from the central area, P or R S; (h) from the right-hand side, a fragmentary T, E or F; (i) from the right-hand side, 1 or M. They do not all correspond with those listed in EE, VII; here they are related to areas of the stone. The fourth and sixth fragments of EE, VII, reading S . / . . . AVG . . / . . TI and IV respectively, appear to be missing. EE, VII, 936; YMH, 63.
(132) Tomb fragment (Plate 48), of gritstone, 14 ins. by 10½ ins. by 6 ins., with a pine-cone in low relief. The moulding on the side of the stone suggests that the pine-cone formed the central decoration of a gabled top. Probably from York; position of find unknown.
(133) Finials, seven, all except (f) and (g) in the form of pinecones and listed in YMH, 69, no. 79, where the provenance is given for three, namely Dringhouses, The Mount (Driffield Terrace or Dalton Terrace) and immediately N.W. of the present Railway Station (see Burials, IV Region, (m) and (g)). All are from tombs: (a) of gritstone, 2 ft. 3 ins. high, on a rectangular base 1 ft. 6 ins. by 11 ins. by 1 ft. 3 ins.; (b) of gritstone, 10 ins. high, on a rectangular base 8 ins. by 2 ins. by 8 ins.; (c) of limestone, 14 ins. high by 10 ins. maximum diameter, the base missing; (d) of gritstone, 11 ins. high by 8 ins. maximum diameter, no base; (e) of gritstone, 9 ins. high by 7 ins. maximum diameter, no base; (f) of gritstone, bobbin-shaped but fragmentary, the top and bottom being broken off, 1 ft. 2 ins. high by 10 ins. diameter; (g) of gritstone, of phallic form, 2 ft. 2 ins. high by 10 ins. maximum diameter, from N.W. of the site of the present Railway Station (see Burials, IV Region, (g)). YMH, 69, no. 78.
Architectural Fragments:—
(134) Capital (Plate 63), from a tomb, of gritstone, 8 ins. by 7 ins. by 4½ ins., rectangular upper part and moulded lower to fit an oval column 4½ ins. and 5½ ins. On the face is carved in relief a male figure, largely naked, with forearms raised. His head is defaced. His right hand grasps possibly a net, of which the weighted end hangs over his left arm. His left hand grasps the butt-end of a weapon, probably a trident. He would thus appear to be a retiarius. On the left side of the capital is carved a soaring eagle. Found in 1874 near the Royal Station Hotel (see Burials, IV Region, (c)). YMH, 71.
(135) Cornice fragment (Plate 64), of gritstone, 3 ft. 2 ins. by 1 ft. 9 ins. by 1 ft. 3½ ins., with enriched palmettes, swags and pendants; possibly from a tomb. Found, with Nos. 122, 126, 127, in 1835, at Bootham Bar, and perhaps reused in rebuilding the N.W. gatehouse of the fortress in the 4th century. YMH, 70; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, 51, pl. V.
(136) Frieze fragment, a block of gritstone, 1 ft. 10 ins. by 1 ft. 2 ins. by 9 ins., decorated with a running scroll enclosing rosettes. Probably from York; place of discovery unknown.
Furniture:—
(137) Candelabrum fragment (Plate 60), of gritstone, 2 ft. 8 ins. long by 1 ft. 3 ins. in maximum diameter, comprising the upper part of the shaft, from immediately below the bowl. Its proportions suggest an original height of between 13 ft. and 16 ft. Although coarse, the decoration is in the full classical style, and may once have been stuccoed. A cushion mould is surmounted by a basket of hourglass shape, round which two amorini climb amid vine foliage. The basket is surmounted by a zone of alternate human heads and squatting sphinx-like beasts. Of the two amorini only one survives although at the point of junction with the basket vestiges remain of the other's hands and knees. Similarly only shapeless traces remain of the vine foliage. This monumental piece no doubt once graced an important mausoleum on a slope overlooking the colonia below the road to Isurium (Road 9). Found in 1876, on the slope N.W. of the Railway Station (see Burials, IV Region, (g)). YMH, 71; I. A. Richmond in Ant. Journ., XXVI (1946), 1.
(138) Table-leg (Plate 60), of limestone, 1 ft. 11 ins. long and approximately 5 ins. in diameter, tenoned for insertion into a base and a table-top. It is sheathed in long leaves gathered below the 'knee' by a cord tied at the back. On the foot is a group of small roundels. The table was presumably used for funeral feasts or offerings. Found 1884, S.E. of The Mount, between Mill Mount and Scarcroft Road (see Burials, IV Region, (l)). YMH, 71. J. Liversidge, Furniture in Roman Britain (1955), 49.
Inscribed Small Objects
Metal
(139) Amulet (Plate 65), fragmentary, consisting of a thin gold plate 1 in. wide by ¾ in., lightly engraved with two lines of writing in Greek letters. Such charms were rolled or folded over and over, into a small compact mass, and then enclosed in a locket. This fragment has broken along its folds at top and bottom. Found in 1839, near the archway cut through the City Wall for the railway at the Old Station. The first line is a meaningless jumble of letters and magical characters. The second line φνεβεννουθ has been interpreted as a transliteration of the Coptic PH. NEB. N. NOUT 'Lord of the gods' (J. Kenrick, YPS Procs., I (1854), 106); but it might be a variant of the Hebrew magic formula, nobis biennouth, meaning 'bound by spells', which is common upon 'Chnoubis' amulets (used for digestive ailments) and is often misspelt (C. Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets (1950), 56–7). YMH, 122; YPSR (1848), 9, 24; C. Wellbeloved, YPS Procs., I (1847–54), 96; J. Kenrick, op. cit.; C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum, pl. XVII, 15.
(140) Finger-ring (Plate 65), of silver, octagonal, found in 1875, in the City moat in St. Maurice's Road (N.G. 606522). It is inscribed DEO SVCELO 'To the god Sucelus'. Sucelus, usually spelt Sucellus, is often found, with his consort Nantosuelta, on altars from the Rhineland (Sarrebourg, Metz, etc.), he bearing a mallet, she a dovecot, below their familiar, the crow. EE, III, 181a; YMH, 123.
(141) Finger-ring (Plate 65), of silver, circular, from the site of the present Railway Station, 1875, inscribed TOT. EE, III, 181b; YMH, 123.
(142) Votive Tablets (Plate 65), two, of bronze, of ansate form, originally silvered and mounted for suspension, one 3 ins. by 2 ins., the other 2 ins. by 1 in. Each carried a Greek inscription in punched dots. Found in 1840, at the Old Railway Station. The larger reads
ΘΕΟΙΣ
ΤΟΙΣ ΤΟΥ ΗΖΕ
ΜΟΝΙΚΟΥ ΠΡΑΙ
ΤΩΡΙΟΥ ΣΚΡΙΒ
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ
'To the gods of the governor's residence, Scrib(onius) Demetrius.' The smaller reads
ΩΚΕΑΝΩΙ
ΚΑΙ ΤΗΘΥΙ
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙ[ΟΣ
'To Ocean and Tethys, Demetrius.' Demetrius has been identified with Demetrius, the school-teacher for senior boys (γραμματικος), whom Plutarch met at Delphi in A.D. 83–4, where Demetrius recounted his experiences from an intelligence reconnaissance of the Western Isles (Plutarch, de defectu Oraculorum, 2). The dedication to Ocean and Tethys, his consort, recalls, probably deliberately, that made by Alexander the Great at his furthest point of exploration in the Indian Ocean (Diod., xvii, 104). Demetrius would feel that he had achieved its counterpart at the other end of the world. CIL, 62; EE, IX, 560; G. Kaibel, Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum, XIV, 2548; ILS, 8861; YMH, 121; YPS Comms., I (1876), 26; G. Benson, York I, 16, fig. 18.
(143) Camp Kettle (Plate 32), of bronze, 107/8 ins. diameter at the mouth and 103/8 ins. high, inscribed inside the rim with the names of two centuriae to which it belonged successively. Dredged out of the river Ouse in 1934. One inscription is punched in dots: > ATTI SEVERI 'The century of Attius Severus', the other cut with a cold chisel: > C(....) APRILIS 'The century of C .... Aprilis'. Since the C before Aprilis must stand for a nomen, it is possible that this was Classicius Aprilis, the heir to another centurion of the Sixth, who set up stone No. 78 (see above). JRS, XXV (1935), 225, pl. XLIII; Ant. Journ., XV (1935), 198, pl. XXVI.
(144) Sealing (Plate 65), of lead, 15/16 in. diameter, consisting of a circular blob with bulges at the back made by the string that once ran through it. On the front is the impression of a bellowing bull, facing right, with the letters P B I in the field above. Found in Blossom Street in 1954 at the junction of Roads 9 and 10, on the surface of Road 9.
P(ROVINCIAE) B(RITANNIAE) I(NFERIORIS)
'Of the Province of Lower Britain.' York was, after the early 3rd-century division of Britain into two provinces, the capital of Lower Britain. The bull is usually considered the badge of the Sixth Legion, stationed at York. JRS, XLV (1955), 146; R. P. Wright in Cumberland and Westmorland Ant. and Arch. Soc. Trans., New Series, LIV (1955), 102, fig. 1a.
(145) Urn, of lead (Plate 32), being a cylindrical vessel with shoulders and narrow neck, 10 ins. diameter by 15 ins. high, with an inscription on the side. Found in 1875, containing a cremation, on the site of the present Railway Station (see Burials, IV Region, (d), x).
D(IS) M(ANIBVS)
V[LP]IAE FELICISSIMAE
QVAE VIXIT ANNIS
VIII MENSES XI DIES
... M(ARCVS) VLPIVS FELIX ET
... ANDRONICA
PARE]NTES
'To the spirits of the departed and to Ulpia Felicissima, who lived for 8 years 11 months ... days, Marcus Ulpius Felix and ... Andronica, her parents.' EE, III, 83; YMH, 146.
Stone, Ivory, Bone:—
(146) Tablet fragment (Plate 65), of finely polished green slate, 2 ins. by 2 ins., that is, about half the original size, with a bevelled edge. It was probably a palette for mixing ointments. Found in a grave in 1868, during the excavations near Scarborough Bridge (see BURIALS, IV Region, (f), vi). CANDIDVS Candidus owns this.' EE, III, 137; YMH, 118.
(147) Oculist's Stamp (Plate 65), of green soapstone, rectangular, 1 7/16 ins. by 25/32 in. by 11/32 in. It was for marking cakes of salve. Found in a market garden, since incorporated into the grounds of Mount School, to W. and S. of the school building. Now at St. John's College, York. The stamp reads, retrograde,
IVLI ALEX(A)NDRI
DIAMY(SVS) AD ASP(RITVDINES)
'Julius Alexander's salve for irritations'. JRS, XLIV (1954), 108–9; YAJ, XXXIX (1958), 303, pl. IIa facing 294.
(148) Handle (Plate 65), of ivory, a fragment split length- wise, 2 ins. by ⅓ in. by ⅓ in., tapering slightly and decorated on one side with ribs. Only the tops of the letters show. Provenance unknown, but probably from York. YMH, 128 f.
(149) Slip (Plate 65), of bone, 5 ins. by 1½ ins., with serrated edges and incised inscription, found in 1873 during the railway excavations, on the breast of a corpse in a coffin (Burials, IV Region, (i)).
DOMINE VICTOR
VINCAS FELIX
'Lord Victor, may you have a lucky win!' The formula is that used for gladiators or charioteers. EE, III, 127; YMH, 128d.
(150) Slip (Plate 65. Fig. 58), of bone, 53/8 ins. by 3/8 in. by 1/16 in., with an openwork inscription, probably from a casket, found in 1901 in a coffin with other grave goods in Sycamore Terrace (N.G. 59675235) (see Burials, III Region, (b), v). S[OR]OR AVE VIVAS IN DEO 'Hail sister! may you live in God!' The language is Christian and was no doubt intended to attract a Christian purchaser: but the burial is otherwise pagan in its equipment of glass drinking vessels and jewellery. EE, IX, 1345; YPSR (1901), 11, 104.
Inscribed Pottery
(151) Motto Beakers, four (b, c, e, f, Plate 35) in the Yorkshire Museum, and two (a, d) formerly there but now lost, of dark red fabric with shining black or metallic colour-coating, inscribed and decorated in white slip. Most, like (c), probably came from graves. Excepting (e), they are noted in YMH, 99; (b, c, f) are illustrated by T. May in YPSR (1909), pl. VIII, 7a, b, c.
(a) AXSAISI, perhaps for lax(s)as, 'You relax'. Found at the White House, Clifton, in 1880 (see Burials, III Region, (b), also p. 65b).
(b–c) DA MI (Vulgar Latin for da mihi) 'Give me!' Two examples, one (H. 153) from Clifton, found in 1883, and one (H. 34 b. Plate 30. Fig. 67) from the Railway excavations, the latter associated with a late 3rd-century cooking-pot containing a cremation. (See Burials, III Region, (f), IV Region, (i)). (d) MISCE MI(HI) 'Mix for me.' Found in the Railway excavations, in 1872.
(e) NOLITE SITIRE 'Don't be thirsty!' (H. 155. Fig. 55). Found in Fossgate in 1914 (see Burials, I Region, (c)).
(f) VIVATIS 'Long life to you!' (H. 154). Found in the Railway excavations, in 1873 (see Burials, IV Region, (i)).
(152) Jar (Fig. 73), of grey ware, bearing several graffiti; found, containing a cremation, in 1861 on The Mount and now H. 142 in the Yorkshire Museum (see Burials, IV Region, (l), vii).
(153) Flagon (Fig. 77), mid 2nd-century, of orange selfcoloured fabric with a graffito, PIII 'Pondo III', on the shoulder (JRS, XLIII (1953), 131, no. 19). Found in the Trentholme Drive-Mount Vale cemetery (see Burials, IV Region, (o), xiii).
(154) Pottery, various, preserved in the Yorkshire Museum, exhibits a variety of graffiti. Thirty-five are illustrated on Fig. 87, of which twenty-eight are on Samian, seven on coarse pottery; one is on an amphora. A pot with the graffito AMASVI, recorded in the Bateman Collection in 1855, and the rims of two amphorae with BIVILVIN and INNMIF, recorded in JRS, XXII (1932), 203, are now lost.
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