Tombstones are one of the most important sources of information about the Romano-British population. Unfortunately, we have only a few hundred, out of a population that must have numbered between three and five million for the best part of four centuries. Of those that we have, the bias is very distinctly to the military, their families and associates. At Bath, for example, of the 11 tombstones recorded in RIB, five are of soldiers. Although a fort probably stood in the vicinity in the mid-first century, these tombstones are mostly attributable to visitors to the shrine and spa. In settlements like Lincoln, a fortress for around 20-30 years, about half the tombstones can be fixed to that period alone. Places like St Albans, never a military settlement, produce virtually no tombstones.
Tombstones have three features: the inscribed text, decorative funerary imagery, and occasionally a depiction of the deceased. Many have survived because they were reused in buildings. One of the best examples is the large number of tombstones from the legionary fortress at Chester, found reused in the fortress walls. This provides us with a very useful series of tombstones, but, of course, none is in its original location, or associated with the deceased’s mortal remains. Reuse like this also means that many tombstones are incomplete, with damaged texts or decoration.
Like most Roman epigraphic monuments, tombstones were formulaic. They feature stock funerary phrases usually, but not always, abbreviated to their initial letters. Depictions of the deceased in a decorative panel usually conformed to a stereotyped representation with appropriate attributes. In many cases, the fact that the funerary text does not fit neatly into the panel suggests that the tombstone was a prefabricated off-the-shelf purchase. The text would include the name and often
Tombstone abbreviations DM or DMS Dis Manihus: ‘To the spirits of the departed’.
AN or ANN Atworum: ‘(Numberl years of age’.
M Menses: ‘Months’, where added to years of age, usually where children were involved.
D Dies: ‘Days’, where added to years and months of age, also usually for the age at death. More expansive texts add details such as occupation, family members, hometown and province, and the details of those who had erected the tombstone, usually the heirs (heres), the wife {cottiunx), or the deceased’s freedman or freedmen {libertus or liberti).
Tombstones never carry dating information, though the deceased’s name and occupation can sometimes provide a clue. Although tombstones are typically conformist, there are several instances of decorative flair and of the allusion to very personal and intimate experiences. However, even details of the name can be a little misleading. It was not unusual for very conventional Roman names to be adopted by people of children.
FC Faciendum Curavit. ‘Took care of the work’, sometimes translated as‘had this set up'.
HSE Hic SifH5 Est. Ts buried here’. STTL Sit Tibi Terra Levis: ‘Let the earth rest lightly on you’; much rarer.
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