This is the tombstone of Regina ('Queen'), which can today be found in the Roman museum at South Shields. It is conventionally referenced as RIB 1065 add.
Regina is shown seated as a respectable Roman matron. She is wearing jewellery on her neck and wrists. Regina wears a robe over her tunic. In her lap she holds a distaff and spindle. On her left is a box containing her wool. By her right hand stands her jewellery box.
The inscription reads:
'To the spirits of the departed (and) to Regina (his) freedwoman and wife, a Catuvellaunian, aged 30, Barates of Palmyra (set this up)'
Clearly, Barates of Palmyra bought Regina as a slave and freed her to become his wife. Beneath the Latin inscription, you will notice a second script, which is Palmyrene and reads
'Regina, the freedwoman of Barates, alas'
This is clear evidence for multi-culturalism at South Shields, on the edge of the empire, during the Roman period.
Interestingly, we also have Barates' tombstone, from Corbridge (RIB 1171 add). The tombstone is of poor quality and reads:
'To the spirits of the departed, Barates of Palmyra, vexillarius, lived 68 years'
Clearly this is the same individual, demonstrating that he stayed in the North East of England after the death of Regina. The term vexillarius is interesting. Barates was not a military man - there is no sign of an army unit here. Some scholars have suggested that Barates made a living from making/selling army standards - thus explaining his presence near Hadrian's Wall. However, it seems unlikely that there was such a constant demand for new standards that it was possible to make a comfortable living from it. An alternative suggestion is that Barates carried the standard of some sort of trade guild.
Thanks for this post, Jonathan. I am wondering about the date of Regina's tombstone. Logically, I would tie it in to the time when Severus was campaigning in the area (which would also fit the Palmyran style of the sculpture and make sense of the Palmyrene script). But Martin Henig puts it in the same workshop group as the tombstone of Victor the Moor, erected by a cavalryman of the Ala I Asturum -- a unit, afaik, which was only there in the time of Claudius. Can you help sort this out?
ReplyDeleteGood question Judith. According to the CSIR, the form of the final letter of the Palmyrene script did not outlast the third quarter of the 2nd Century AD in Palmyra. With regard to Ala I Asturum, John Spaul in his mongraph Ala shows that the unit was based at Benwell (just outside Newcastle) after the retreat from the Antonine Wall. It seems possible that the unit was at South Shields before being switched to Benwell. This would suggest that the tombstone of Regina, if of a similar date, would belong to the second half of the 2nd Century AD - perhaps also running into the early 3rd Century and covering the Severan campaign in the north. This would also fit with Barates' presence in the area. If he was a merchant/trader, as seems likely, South Shields was rapidly emerging as a key port for the eastern sector of Hadrian's Wall and northern England, making it a prime spot for business. I must admit that this is a rather circumstantial argument - but is probably the closest we are likely to get to an approximate date.
ReplyDeleteJonathan, see now my post on this (and many thanks for your help), The Little Queen at Hadrian's Wall
ReplyDeleteCouldn't we from vexillarius also interpret that he was a standard bearer in the army, a re-enlisted veteran or a soldier serving in a vexillation? And surely there were military units in both South Sheilds and Corbridge? I do not think we can conclude either way whether Barates was a merchant or a soldier.
ReplyDeleteHi Patrick - good point. The absence of any mention of a specific army unit, length of service or status as a veteran on either inscription suggests that he was not a soldier or veteran, as these are the details that they tend to include. I think it was Eric Birley who first suggested that he is more likely to have been a merchant with links to the army rather than a soldier.
ReplyDeleteHm, I just don't think Birley's case for Barates being a merchant is very strong either. Vexillarius as a term for a flag merchant or maker is, as far as I can tell, not attested. And if he was a standardbearer in religious processions for a collegia, why isn't the collegia or the trade referred to? After all, the original purpose of the collegia was to provide for the funeral, which I am sure they would have liked credit for on the tombstone. I am honestly perplexed.
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