Details

COLEM:1928.345

Colchester Collections

tombstone, inscription

Roman tombstone of cavalryman Longinus Sdapeze. The inscription reads: " Longinus Sdapeze. Son of Mataycus, duplicarius (junior officer) of the First Squadron of Thracian cavalry from the district of Sardica. Aged 40, with 15 years service. His heirs had this erected in accordance with his will. Here he lies". Longinus was born in what is now Bulgaria and when he was 25 joined his local cavalry regiment called the First Thracian Cavalry. He rose to the rank of duplicarious, second-in-command to an officer in charge of 32 men. His regiment took part on the invasion of Britain in AD 43 and Longinus died in Colchester about AD 55, where he was buried in a cemetery alongside the road to Roman London. The tombstone was discovered in 1928 and has suffered damage, including a major diagonal break across the inscription panel. This damage was possibly sustained when it was toppled during the Boudican revolt. At the time of discovery, the carved head of Longinus was missing. Miraculously, it was found many years later in 1996 when the site was excavated by a local amateur archaeologist, James Fawn. The tombstone is carved from white freestone sourced from a quarry at Painswick in Gloucestershire. This makes the tombstone unusual in that other monuments from early southern Roman Britain use more locally available stones, such as ‘Bath-stone’.

0055

Roman

LONGINVS SDAPEZE / MATYCI F[IL] DVPLICARIVS / ALA PRIMA TH[R]ACVM PACO / SARDI ANNO XL AN[N]OR XV / HEREDES SEXS TESTAM[---] / H[IC] S[ITVS] E[ST]

Longinus Sdapeze. Son of Mataycus, duplicarius (junior officer) of the First Squadron of Thracian cavalry from the district of Sardica. Aged 40, with 15 years service. His inheritors had this erected in accordance with his will. Here he lies

height: 2400.00 mm
width: 796.00 mm