Inscriptions: Epitaph of the slave Salvius

Identification

Reference as:	MPL02239
Title	Epitaph of the slave Salvius
Trismegistos-No.	339346

Object

Provenance and Location

Find Place	Caesarea
Find Context	Unknown.
Latitude	0.0
Longitude	0.0
Current Location	Cherchell, Musée Public National de Cherchell
Inventory number	405
Current Location Details
Vicinity	[{"coords": [36.6073, 2.18683], "id": 2239, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/2239", "long_id": "MPL02239", "place": "Caesarea", "text": "Salvius. Duo. Bis denos vitae qu[i compleverat\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://books.openedition.org/efr/file/3201/tei/img-2.jpg/download/1500", "title": "Epitaph of the slave Salvius"}, {"coords": [36.6073, 2.18683], "id": 807, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/807", "long_id": "MPL00807", "place": "Caesarea", "text": "Iuliae reg\u0323[is [---] l(ibertae) Calloni] C(aius) I\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://ccj-epicherchel.huma-num.fr/interface/phototheque/125/112988_det.jpg", "title": "Epitaph of Iulia Callo by her husband C.Iulius, freedwoman and freedman of king Juba"}, {"coords": [36.6073, 2.18683], "id": 808, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/808", "long_id": "MPL00808", "place": "Caesarea", "text": "[Hic eg]o quae iaceo fatis sum rapta sinistris. [S\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://db.edcs.eu/epigr/bilder/$AE_1985_00958.jpg", "title": "Epitaph of an unknown girl from Caesarea"}, {"coords": [36.6073, 2.18683], "id": 809, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/809", "long_id": "MPL00809", "place": "Caesarea", "text": "[\u2066 - - - - - - - - - - \u2069] n(um) X [---] dolere nol\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Epitaph from Caesarea \u2013 Cherchell (Mauretania Caesariensis) - HD002885"}, {"coords": [36.6073, 2.18683], "id": 2244, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/2244", "long_id": "MPL02244", "place": "Caesarea", "text": "Philo, L(uci) Vibi Secundi vern(a). Vibius Gemellu\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Epitaph of the verna Philo by his father Vibius Gemellus"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 210, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/210", "long_id": "MPL00210", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Hic iacet egregia meritis et gratia morum, nobilis\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://db.edcs.eu/epigr/bilder/$ER_CLE_01836.jpg", "title": "Funerary inscription for Astania"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 388, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/388", "long_id": "MPL00388", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Si quis ut vivat quaerit addisc-cere semper, hic l\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://db.edcs.eu/epigr/bilder/$EDCS-26500017.jpg", "title": "Mosaic inscription from a baptistery "}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 391, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/391", "long_id": "MPL00391", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Vivite felices quibu[s] haec sunt condita tecta, s\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Didactic mosaic from Tipasa"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 397, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/397", "long_id": "MPL00397", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Resurrectionem carnis futuram esse qui credit. Ang\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://db.edcs.eu/epigr/bilder.php?s_language=it\u0026bild=$Zarker_00073.jpg", "title": "Mosaic inscription on the Resurrection"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 398, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/398", "long_id": "MPL00398", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Quisquis es Christianus ad sublimia vere qui tendi\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Mosaic inscription on the importance of charity"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 399, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/399", "long_id": "MPL00399", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Suscipit eximium sublimis regia caeli Basilium mer\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Epitaph of Basilius"}, {"coords": [36.7245, 3.55632], "id": 400, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/400", "long_id": "MPL00400", "place": "beni A\u00efcha hill", "text": "EPIDOC IS INVALID; UPDATE WITH WELL-FORMED XML", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "The inscription from the beni A\u00efcha hill"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 403, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/403", "long_id": "MPL00403", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Alexander episcopu[s l]egibus ipsis altaribus natu\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Epitaph of the bishop Alexander"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 405, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/405", "long_id": "MPL00405", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Qui potuit cunctos operum superare labores explici\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Mosaic inscription about some work of rearrangement in Tipasa"}, {"coords": [36.241, 1.64184], "id": 406, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/406", "long_id": "MPL00406", "place": "Tigava", "text": "Memorie Aurelie Tistciae, qui istitit sepultura. E\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Epitaph of Aurelia Tistcia"}, {"coords": [36.1444, 3.69127], "id": 411, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/411", "long_id": "MPL00411", "place": "Auzia", "text": "Sumptibus e propriis Felix Calvusque gratantes han\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "An altar to Phoebus"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 412, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/412", "long_id": "MPL00412", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "\u039c\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03ce\u03bd\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03ae\u03bd\u03b4\u1fbd(\u03b5)\u03b9-\u03c3\u03bf\u03c1\u1fb7\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f14\u03bd\u03b5\u03bd\u03ba\u03b1\u03bd \u03b3-\u03bd\u03af[\u03c3]\u03b9\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bf\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Funerary inscription for Maxima"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 798, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/798", "long_id": "MPL00798", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Alto labsa loco, casu defuncta nefando. Primis rap\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://db.edcs.eu/epigr/bilder/$JL_AE_1982_00984.jpg", "title": "Epitaph of Fidentia by her father Fidentius"}, {"coords": [36.2964, 3.66993], "id": 855, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/855", "long_id": "MPL00855", "place": "A\u00efn-Bessem", "text": "Balnea rura domus fec[it C]onstantius auctor et fe\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Inscription from A\u00efn-Bessem, bei (Mauretania Caesariensis) - HD023151"}]

Object Details

Object Type	stele
Material	marble
State of Preservation	incomplete
Dimensions	width: 17.0 cm height: unknown depth: unknown
Letter Size in cm (min)	0.0
Letter Size in cm (max)	0.0
Execution Technique	chiselled
Religion	Pagan

Decoration

Decoration and Iconography	Stele surmounted by moulded tympanum, with relief of crescent moon on pediment.
Decoration Tags	Symbol / moon crescent

Verse Layouts

Prose Verse Presence	Praescriptum + carmen
Prose Verse Distinction	Yes, by smaller lettering in prose
Layout Types (Prose)	Left aligned
Layout Types (Verse)	Left aligned
Scriptio Continua in verse part	no
Abbreviations in verse part	no
Verse Line Correspondence	Yes
Graphic Signs and Spaces for Easier Carmen Reading	To separate words - Interpunction

Text

Function	funerary inscription
Language(s)	Latin
Verse Type(s)	Elegiac couplet
Rhythmisation	Quantitative scheme

Inscription & Translations

Diplomatic Interpretative Verse Visualisation

SALVIVSDVO

BISDENOSVITAEQV[]
ADSVPEROSFIDVSHICFVITIN͡N[]
VNCLIBVAEGENVITTELLVSEADEMQ[]
5TVMVLOPVLVISETOSSAIACET
ETQVIPRESTETITANTEFRATRIH[---]
PRESSACENIS
CONSEVICASVFLENTESDIXERESVPRE[]:
[------]

Salvius. Duo.

Bis denos vitae qu[i compleverat annos]
ad superos fidus hic fuit in͡n[ocuus].
<H>unc Libuae genuit tellus eademq[ue recepit, hoc nunc in]
5tumulo pulvis et ossa iacet.
Et qui pr<a>estetit ante fratri h[---]
pressa cenis,
conse<r>vi casu flentes dixere supre[mo]:
[------]

Salvius. Duo.

Bis denos vitae qu[i compleverat annos]
ad superos fidus hic fuit in͡n[ocuus].
<H>unc Libuae genuit tellus eademq[ue recepit, hoc nunc in]
tumulo pulvis et ossa iacet.
Et qui pr<a>estetit ante fratri h[---]
pressa cenis,
conse<r>vi casu flentes dixere supre[mo]:
[------]

Apparatus

l.4 reg., orig. Libuae
l.7 reg., orig. cenis
l.8 reg., orig. dixere

Text follows Hamdoune 2017.
ll. 1-2: Duo. / - Salvius - Bis denos vitae qui [degit Salvius annos], Waille and Gauckler. Duo / Salvius bis denos vitae qui ..........., CIL. Duo / Salvius, Velaza.
l. 3: in[nocuus], Waille and Gauckler.
l. 4: ⟨H⟩unc Libu`a´e genuit tellus eademq[ue recepit], Waille and Gauckler; CIL.
l. 5: [hic nunc sub] tumulo, CLE; Carbonell and Pena; Velaza. [Contectum] tumulo, Waille and Gauckler. ...... tumulo, CIL.[Hoc nunc sub] tumulo, Hamdoune 2011.
l. 6: [munus idem Paulo functo] qui, CLE; Carbonell and Pena; Velaza. [........................] qui, Waille and Gauckler. ...... qui, CIL. [Munus idem paulo functo] qui, Hamdoune 2011.
l. 7: fratri h[ic nunc saxo est utraque], CLE; Carbonell and Pena; Velaza. Fratri, h[odie saxi pondere], Waille and Gauckler. fratri h....... pressa, CIL. fratri, h[ic saxi est pondere], Hamdoune 2011.
l. 8: supre[ma], Waille and Gauckler. supre[m].., CIL.
l. 9: [Paule, tibi et Salvi, sit tibi terra levis], CLE. [.......... sit tibi terra levis], Waille and Gauckler.

Main Translation

Translation	Salvius. They are two. He reached twice the age of twelve years, faithful to the gods, he caused no offence here. The land of Libya gave him birth and that same land welcomed him, and now he lies in this tomb, dust and bones. And to a brother who used to be excellent ... reduced to ashes, his fellow slaves, lamenting such a great misfortune, said: ...
Citation	Fabio Spalla

Other Translations

El que [apenas había cumplido] los veinte [años] de vida, fue leal y bueno entre los vivos. A él lo engendró la tierra de Libia y ella misma lo [ha acogido]. Convertido ahora en polvo y huesos, yace bajo esta tumba. Este mismo monumento fúnebre se hizo también para el difunto Paulo, que precedió a su hermano: la ceniza de ambos está [ahora aquí] guardada, [bajo esta lápida]. Sus compañeros de esclavitud, llorando por su suerte, dijeron al morir: Paulo, que la tierra no pese sobre ti ni sobre Salvio. (Spanish, C. Fernández Martínez)
Salvius, qui avait accompli les deux fois douze ans de sa vie, fidèle à ceux d’en haut, n’a fait aucun mal. La terre de Libye l’engendra et c’est elle aussi qui le reçut. Dans ce tombeau désormais, il gît, poussière et ossements ; et à un frère qui excella [---] réduit en cendres, ses compagnons de servitude, en pleurant sur un malheur aussi grand ont dit : [« que la terre te soit légère… »]. (French , C. Hamdoune 2016)

Prosopographical Information

Name Salvius
Gender Male
Age Range Adult (21–60) [expression: Non-canonical, precision: high]
Origin Foreign
Legal Status Slave
Role Dedicatee

Name	Salvius
Gender	Male
Age Range	Adult (21–60) [expression: Non-canonical, precision: high]
Origin	Foreign
Legal Status	Slave
Role	Dedicatee

Further Information

Comment

Dating proposed by Hamdoune 2017, based on comparable stelae from Mauretania Caesariensis.

Squeeze

Have Squeeze?	no

Dating

Date (From)	1 AD
Date (To)	100 AD
Date (Criteria)	archaeology

Bibliography

CLE 01245
CIL 08, Suppl. 03, 21303
V. Waille, P. Gauckler, Inscriptions inédites de Cherchel, Rev. Arch. 17 (1891), 26-27, nr. 24. 🔗 link
C. Fernández Martínez, Poesía epigráfica latina II, Madrid 1999, 48-49, nr. 1245 (Spanish translation of the elegiac couplets) 🔗 link
J. Carbonell, M. J. Pena, Itala me genuit Tellus. Ideas en torno al origen del pseudo-epitafio de Virgilio. A propósito de un carmen epigraphicum de Myrtilis (Lusitania), Epigraphica 71 (2009), 280-281, nr. 3.9. 🔗 link
C. Hamdoune, Vie, mort et poésie dans l'Afrique romaine d'après un choix de Carmina Latina Epigraphica, Bruxelles 2011, 258-260, nr, 160 (with French translation) 🔗 link
C. Hamdoune, Les distiques élégiaques de Césarée et la Familia des rois de Maurétanie, Ant. Afr. 49 (2013), 11-12 (with French translation) 🔗 link
C. Hamdoune, L’épitaphe versifiée d’un esclave de la familia de Juba II. In: M. Dondin-Payre (ed.), N. Tran (ed.), Esclaves et maîtres dans le monde romain. Expressions épigraphiques de leurs relations, Rome 2016 (Accessed 09/10/2025; with French translation, facsimile, fig. 1, photo, fig. 2, and drawing, fig. 3; also on dating) - AE 2016 🔗 link
AE 2916, 00058, 01995
J. Velaza, Mantua me genuit: génesis, datación y modelos epigráficos del "autoepitafio" de Virgilio, Anu. Filol. Antiq. Mediaevalia 8 (2018), 879, nr. 2.6 (with photo, fig. 5) 🔗 link
EDCS-26801360 🔗 link
MQDQ 🔗 link
SIRAR 0339 🔗 link

Images

Epitaph of the slave Salvius.
Source: https://books.openedition.org/efr/3201#anchor-endnotes (c) P. Leveau

Editing History

Created	2025-10-10, by Fabio Spalla
Work Status	Complete
Import Notice

Revisions

by Fabio Spalla
at 2025-10-09 08:54
by Fabio Spalla
at 2025-10-09 10:05
by Fabio Spalla
at 2025-10-09 10:08
by Fabio Spalla
at 2025-10-09 10:10
by Fabio Spalla
at 2025-10-09 10:10
by Fabio Spalla
at 2025-10-09 10:11
by Chiara Cenati
at 2025-10-10 11:23

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