Inscriptions: Epitaph of an unknown girl from Caesarea

Identification

Reference as:	MPL00808
Title	Epitaph of an unknown girl from Caesarea
Trismegistos-No.	203353

Object

Provenance and Location

Find Place	Caesarea
Find Context	Western necropolis of Cadat, reused in the flooring of a tomb.
Latitude	0.0
Longitude	0.0
Current Location	Cherchell, Musée Public National de Cherchell
Inventory number	I.01
Current Location Details
Vicinity	[{"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/$AE_1985_00958.jpg", "title": "Epitaph of an unknown girl from Caesarea"}, {"coords": [36.6073, 2.18683], "id": 807, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/807", "long_id": "MPL00807", "place": "Caesarea", "text": "Iuliae reg\u0323[is [---] l(ibertae) Calloni] C(aius) I\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://ccj-epicherchel.huma-num.fr/interface/phototheque/125/112988_det.jpg", "title": "Epitaph of Iulia Callo by her husband C.Iulius, freedwoman and freedman of king Juba"}, {"coords": [36.6073, 2.18683], "id": 809, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/809", "long_id": "MPL00809", "place": "Caesarea", "text": "[\u2066 - - - - - - - - - - \u2069] n(um) X [---] dolere nol\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Epitaph from Caesarea \u2013 Cherchell (Mauretania Caesariensis) - HD002885"}, {"coords": [36.6073, 2.18683], "id": 2239, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/2239", "long_id": "MPL02239", "place": "Caesarea", "text": "Salvius. Duo. Bis denos vitae qu[i compleverat\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://books.openedition.org/efr/file/3201/tei/img-2.jpg/download/1500", "title": "Epitaph of the slave Salvius"}, {"coords": [36.6073, 2.18683], "id": 2244, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/2244", "long_id": "MPL02244", "place": "Caesarea", "text": "Philo, L(uci) Vibi Secundi vern(a). Vibius Gemellu\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Epitaph of the verna Philo by his father Vibius Gemellus"}, {"coords": [36.5942, 2.44192], "id": 210, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/210", "long_id": "MPL00210", "place": "Tipasa", "text": "Hic iacet egregia meritis et gratia morum, nobilis\u2026", "thumbnail_url": "https://db.edcs.eu/epigr/bilder/$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	fragmentary (adjoining fragments)
Dimensions	width: 29.0 cm height: 35.0 cm depth: 4.0 cm
Letter Size in cm (min)	1.0
Letter Size in cm (max)	1.0
Execution Technique	chiselled
Religion	Pagan

Decoration

Decoration and Iconography	Inscription within tabula ansata, topped by moulded tympanum containing a moon crescent on the pediment. Below the tabula, female head beneath a moulded arch.
Decoration Tags	Architecture / Arch Architecture / Moulding Object / Tabula ansata Person / head Person / woman Symbol / moon crescent

Verse Layouts

Prose Verse Presence	Carmen
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

[]OQVAEIACEOFATISSVMRAPTASINISTRIS
[]CTAMEISSEMPERDVLCISVBIQVEFVIT
[]S.NEFVNESTOSMATERIAMSCINDERECRINES
ATQVELEVALVCTVSFRATERVTIQVEMINOR

[Hic eg]o quae iaceo fatis sum rapta sinistris.
[S]ẹcta meis semper dulcis ubique fuit.
[De]sịne funestos, mater, iam scindere crines;
atque leva luctus, frater, utique minor.

Apparatus

Text follows Hamdoune 2011. Picture checked by Spalla 2025.
l. 1: [Eg]o, Leveau.
l. 2: [se]cta, CLE. fui, Leveau; CLE.
l. 3: Ṣịne, Leveau. [Des]ịne, CLE.

Main Translation

Translation	I, who lie here, was snatched away by adverse fate. My way of life was always and everywhere delightful to my loved ones. Mother, stop tearing your hair apart in mourning; and you, little brother, make your grief by all means bearable.
Citation	Fabio Spalla

Other Translations

Moi qui repose ici, j'ai été emportée par un destin funeste ; ma conduite toujours et en tout fut douce pour les miens. Cesse à présent, ma mère, d'arracher tes cheveux dans ton deuil, et toi en tout cas, petit frère, modère ton chagrin. (French , C. Hamdoune 2011)

Prosopographical Information

Further Information

Comment

Dating proposed by Leveau. Cugusi (CLE) proposes a dating to the 2nd century AD.

Squeeze

Have Squeeze?	no

Dating

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

Bibliography

CLEAfr 00160
CLE 02874
P. Leveau, Nouvelles inscriptions de Cherchel, 3, Bull. Arch. Alg. 7 (1977-1979), 150, nr. 246 (with photo, fig. 28) - AE 1985 🔗 link
AE 1985, 00958
C. Hamdoune, Vie, mort et poésie dans l'Afrique romaine d'après un choix de Carmina Latina Epigraphica, Bruxelles 2011, 257-258, nr. 159 (with French translation) - AE 2011 🔗 link
AE 2011, 01779
P. Cugusi, M. T. Sblendorio Cugusi, I Carmina Latina Epigraphica non-bücheleriani delle province africane. Introduzione al tema, materiali preparatori, edizione di testi, aspetti e problemi, Bologna 2012, 81. 🔗 link
C. Hamdoune, Les distiques élégiaques de Césarée et la Familia des rois de Maurétanie, Ant. Afr. 49 (2013), 9-10, nr. 2 (with French translation and photo, 10, fig. 6) 🔗 link
EDCS-08300655 🔗 link
HD002882 🔗 link
EpiCherchell I 152 🔗 link
MQDQ 🔗 link

Images

Epitaph of an unknown girl from Caesarea.
Source: EDCS-08300655 (c) P. Leveau

Editing History

Created	2025-11-17, by Eric Andreas Kunz
Work Status	Complete
Import Notice	Imported from Epigraphische Datenbank Heidelberg at 2024-07-11T11:58:54, ID there: HD002882

Revisions

by Unknown
at 2024-07-11 11:58
by Eric Andreas Kunz
at 2024-07-27 10:51
by Anna Pokorny
at 2025-01-29 14:49
by Fabio Spalla
at 2025-11-12 10:53
by Fabio Spalla
at 2025-11-12 10:53
by Fabio Spalla
at 2025-11-13 07:08
by Chiara Cenati
at 2025-11-17 16:19

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