Arrabona. Regionális Tudományos Évkönyv 61 (2023), pp. 43-57.
In January 2022, two carved Roman stone monuments were unearthed during the renovation of a 19th-... more In January 2022, two carved Roman stone monuments were unearthed during the renovation of a 19th-century residential house in Győr (fig. 1). The stone monuments, which had been re-used several times, certainly did not belong together. On one of the stones, there was no discernible inscription or depiction. The other can be identified as the central block of an altar. The decorations of the sides and part of the inscription field have been preserved (fig. 2). On the left is a six-petalled rosette in a circular frame. This depiction is very rarely found on the stone monuments of Pannonia. In our opinion, it should be interpreted as a stylised representation of a handle-less sacrificial patera. Based on the known examples, most often a urceus was depicted on the other side as a patera pair (fig. 3-4). However, on the other side of this stone is a representation of a basket. The basket has one ear and is filled with round fruits. Only two fragmentary lower lines of the altar inscription have been preserved, and two fragments letters of the line above them (fig. 5). There are some remains of red colour in the letters. In the penultimate line, the letters PRAEF LEG can be identified (the ligatured AE letters only faintly), with punctum triangulare between them and at the end of the row. At the beginning of the last line there is a letter A and a letter attached to it, the latter could be a B, P, R or D based on the arcing. Only identifying it as R or D gives a sensible reading. The letter A^D could be an abbreviated form of the legio name, but we do not know of any inscription from Pannonia that shows the Adiutrix legiones without the unit number. It is therefore more likely to be AR, which is an abbreviated form of the altar itself. In Pannonia, we know of 30 altar inscriptions that name the type of the object. These are all votive inscriptions. The setting up of grave-altars was less common in Pannonia, so the altar in Győr could also have been a votive altar. The bottom of the third line of the inscription from the bottom is the lower part of a letter B or D, immediately followed by a vertical hasta fragment. These are either fragments of the name of the praefectus legionis or of one of the officiales (beneficiarius / librarius / adiutor). Based on the above, we propose the following interpretation options for inscription: - - -]ḅ/ḍị [us] | pr[a^e]f(ectus) leg(ionis) | a^ṛ(am) [pos]uit. - - -] ḅ(ene)f(iciarius) | pr[a^e]f(ecti) leg(ionis) | a^ṛ(am) [pos]uit. Based on the title praefectus legionis, the monument can be dated to the end of the 2nd century or the first half of the 3rd century (cf. tab. I-II). [Modern find spot: Apáca str. 36. Győr, Hungary. Ancient find spot: Arrabona, Pannonia superior.]
Arrabona. Regionális Tudományos Évkönyv 61 (2023), pp. 43-57.
In January 2022, two carved Roman stone monuments were unearthed during the renovation of a 19th-... more In January 2022, two carved Roman stone monuments were unearthed during the renovation of a 19th-century residential house in Győr (fig. 1). The stone monuments, which had been re-used several times, certainly did not belong together. On one of the stones, there was no discernible inscription or depiction. The other can be identified as the central block of an altar. The decorations of the sides and part of the inscription field have been preserved (fig. 2). On the left is a six-petalled rosette in a circular frame. This depiction is very rarely found on the stone monuments of Pannonia. In our opinion, it should be interpreted as a stylised representation of a handle-less sacrificial patera. Based on the known examples, most often a urceus was depicted on the other side as a patera pair (fig. 3-4). However, on the other side of this stone is a representation of a basket. The basket has one ear and is filled with round fruits. Only two fragmentary lower lines of the altar inscription have been preserved, and two fragments letters of the line above them (fig. 5). There are some remains of red colour in the letters. In the penultimate line, the letters PRAEF LEG can be identified (the ligatured AE letters only faintly), with punctum triangulare between them and at the end of the row. At the beginning of the last line there is a letter A and a letter attached to it, the latter could be a B, P, R or D based on the arcing. Only identifying it as R or D gives a sensible reading. The letter A^D could be an abbreviated form of the legio name, but we do not know of any inscription from Pannonia that shows the Adiutrix legiones without the unit number. It is therefore more likely to be AR, which is an abbreviated form of the altar itself. In Pannonia, we know of 30 altar inscriptions that name the type of the object. These are all votive inscriptions. The setting up of grave-altars was less common in Pannonia, so the altar in Győr could also have been a votive altar. The bottom of the third line of the inscription from the bottom is the lower part of a letter B or D, immediately followed by a vertical hasta fragment. These are either fragments of the name of the praefectus legionis or of one of the officiales (beneficiarius / librarius / adiutor). Based on the above, we propose the following interpretation options for inscription: - - -]ḅ/ḍị [us] | pr[a^e]f(ectus) leg(ionis) | a^ṛ(am) [pos]uit. - - -] ḅ(ene)f(iciarius) | pr[a^e]f(ecti) leg(ionis) | a^ṛ(am) [pos]uit. Based on the title praefectus legionis, the monument can be dated to the end of the 2nd century or the first half of the 3rd century (cf. tab. I-II). [Modern find spot: Apáca str. 36. Győr, Hungary. Ancient find spot: Arrabona, Pannonia superior.]
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- - -]ḅ/ḍị [us] | pr[a^e]f(ectus) leg(ionis) | a^ṛ(am) [pos]uit.
- - -] ḅ(ene)f(iciarius) | pr[a^e]f(ecti) leg(ionis) | a^ṛ(am) [pos]uit.
Based on the title praefectus legionis, the monument can be dated to the end of the 2nd century or the first half of the 3rd century (cf. tab. I-II).
[Modern find spot: Apáca str. 36. Győr, Hungary. Ancient find spot: Arrabona, Pannonia superior.]
- - -]ḅ/ḍị [us] | pr[a^e]f(ectus) leg(ionis) | a^ṛ(am) [pos]uit.
- - -] ḅ(ene)f(iciarius) | pr[a^e]f(ecti) leg(ionis) | a^ṛ(am) [pos]uit.
Based on the title praefectus legionis, the monument can be dated to the end of the 2nd century or the first half of the 3rd century (cf. tab. I-II).
[Modern find spot: Apáca str. 36. Győr, Hungary. Ancient find spot: Arrabona, Pannonia superior.]