Archaeology and Memory – VI
Funerary stele dedicated to Aurelius Aplus by his parents, the mother Apla and the father Aurelius Maximinus.
The stele, because of the depiction of an infant in the niche, has long been studied and interpreted as a funerary monument for a child. The discovery of a second fragment of the inscription made it possible to reconstruct the missing text and confirm that the young Aurelius Aplus actually died after reaching the age of nineteen.
The dating of the monument, proposed on the basis of stylistic considerations (the mother’s expression and the hairstyles of both figures), places it at the end of the 3rd century AD. In particular, the mother’s hairstyle recalls that of Ulpia Severina Augusta, wife of Emperor Aurelian (270–275 AD).
The inscription, CIL V, 1113, integrated with the recently discovered fragment, in its most recent edition, contains the following text:
“D(is) M(anibus) / et perpetuae se[curit]/ati. Aurelio Aplo [f]i[lio]/lo infelicissimo, qui / vixit annis XVIIII, Aurelius Maximi/nus et Apla parentes / uno filio orbati”.
Perhaps already during the 2nd century AD, the formula “perpetuae securitati” is sometimes added to the dedication to the Dis Manibus. Despite the uncertainty of its meaning, it seems to open to the hope of a survival beyond death.
Source - Museum Notice
Limestone stele no. 270
Late 3rd century AD
Aquileia, Museo Archeologico Nazionale
Archaeology and Memory – VI
Funerary stele dedicated to Aurelius Aplus by his parents, the mother Apla and the father Aurelius Maximinus.
The stele, because of the depiction of an infant in the niche, has long been studied and interpreted as a funerary monument for a child. The discovery of a second fragment of the inscription made it possible to reconstruct the missing text and confirm that the young Aurelius Aplus actually died after reaching the age of nineteen.
The dating of the monument, proposed on the basis of stylistic considerations (the mother’s expression and the hairstyles of both figures), places it at the end of the 3rd century AD. In particular, the mother’s hairstyle recalls that of Ulpia Severina Augusta, wife of Emperor Aurelian (270–275 AD).
The inscription, CIL V, 1113, integrated with the recently discovered fragment, in its most recent edition, contains the following text:
“D(is) M(anibus) / et perpetuae se[curit]/ati. Aurelio Aplo [f]i[lio]/lo infelicissimo, qui / vixit annis XVIIII, Aurelius Maximi/nus et Apla parentes / uno filio orbati”.
Perhaps already during the 2nd century AD, the formula “perpetuae securitati” is sometimes added to the dedication to the Dis Manibus. Despite the uncertainty of its meaning, it seems to open to the hope of a survival beyond death.
Source - Museum Notice
Limestone stele no. 270
Late 3rd century AD
Aquileia, Museo Archeologico Nazionale