RIB 3276. Centurial stone of Lucius Octavus

Support

Type of object
Building stone
Material
Greyish sandstone
Dimensions
0.45 × 0.13 × unstated
Site
South Shields (Arbeia)
Find context
Found in excavation, re-used upside down in the south-easternmost buttress on the south-west side of the unnumbered Granary C00 (period 5B, early third century) (NZ 365 679).
Find date
2006
Modern location
Now in Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum.
Institution/acc. #
Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum: IM 184

Text field

Style of lettering
Line 1 is deeply incised in irregular letters, and coincides with three slender vertical strokes: within 𐆛, just after the medial point (with a suprascript bar), and between C and T. They are probably casual, or remains of an earlier text. Line 2 has been inscribed by two or three other hands.
Letter heights
(not specified)

Text

Origin of text
South Shields
Ancient site
Arbeia
Text type
Centurial stone
Date
(no indication)

Edition

(centuria) Luci Octa(v)i
NA .. FṢ

Translation

The century of Lucius Octavus (built this) …

Commentary and notes

1.  Lucius is not a praenomen, but the nomen (of Celtic etymology); compare RIB 805 and 3062 with note. The cognomen is Octavus, with the loss of intervocalic v before i.

2.  Three pairs of letters have been cut between medial points, the second pair indistinct but including two or three vertical strokes. They are presumably the initials of nomen and cognomen, the abbreviated names of three soldiers in the century. There is no exact parallel, but compare RIB 467 (a named century with a soldier’s three initials) and 1389 and 2137 (the centurion’s name reduced to two initials).

Bibliography