08/29/2024
My adventures on Sunday led me to this incredible Roman tombstone, located at the bottom of the night stairs in the south transept of Hexham Abbey in Northumberland, England. It was found built into the abbey"s floor in 1881 and was probably part of the foundations of the original church. It is not certain where it came from, but a cemetery associated with the Roman town of Corbridge (Coria or Corstopitum) a few kilometres to the east is a good bet, since much of the stone that was used to build the original church was taken from that town.
The sandstone tombstone belongs to Flavinus, standard bearer of the Ala Petriana, a cavalry unit that served the Roman Empire in Britannia. Flavinus died aged 25 after seven years" service, probably in the late 1st century AD. On the tombstone he is depicted riding over the enemy while holding a standard. The inscription below reads:
"Dis Manibus Flavinus
eq(ues) alae Petr(ianae) signifer
tur(ma) Candidi an(norum) XXV
stip(endiorum) VII h(ic) s(itus) (est)"
Translation:
"To the spirits of the departed: Flavinus, trooper of the cavalry regiment Petriana, standard-bearer, from the troop of Candidus, aged 25, of 7 years’ service, lies buried here."
(Roman Inscriptions of Britain 1172)
I love it!
