The Roman Tombstones at Chester: A Closer Look

In a previous post 'Walking Chester City Walls Part 1: Eastgate to the Racecourse' it was noted that a large number of Roman tombstones had been re-used in repairs to the northern section of the Chester City Walls. On closer examination it is apparent that these funerary stones had not just been ripped out of a local Roman cemetery for building material but they had been defaced and mutilated with many of the inscriptions obliterated.

Discovery
During repairs to a section of the lower course of the Chester City Walls in 1883 near Morgan’s Mount, about halfway between the Northgate and the Water Tower, pieces of Roman masonry, one clearly a tombstone, were discovered among the fill of the wall. Further repair work between Northgate and the King Charles Tower in 1887 uncovered a substantial amount of Roman masonry, much again from funerary monuments, which has been used to repair the lower courses of the wall.

Roman masonry on the lower courses of the North Wall

In addition to the inscriptions there were also many sculptured panels which had once adorned funerary monuments. These stones must have come from a cemetery outside the fortress walls as Roman law did not permit burial within built up areas. Many Roman cemeteries are found alongside roads outside cities and fortresses.

The finds were so numerous that between 1890 and 1892 Chester Archaeological Society was called in to investigate the wall by Northgate. More than 150 stones were found from the three investigations of 1883, 1887 and the 1890-92. The tombstones had been used as the infill during repairs to the fortress wall at some point in the distant past.

Many of the tombstones commemorated members of Legio XX that had passed while at Chester, the permanent station of the legion. The collection demonstrates the extraordinary diversity in the Roman Army with soldiers being drawn from all corners of the Roman Empire. 

At the time of their discovery these stones were considered to have been robbed from the Roman cemetery during the reconstruction of the walls during the Medieval period, however, the lack of erosion from long-term weathering on most of the stones indicates they were not exposed to the elements for an excessive period; consequently an earlier date is preferred.

Further to this repair work to the city walls in the late-19th century, Professor Newstead carried out excavations at the Deanery Field within the north east corner of the city walls just beyond Chester Cathedral in the 1920’s and 30’s and uncovered Roman barrack blocks and associated buildings. However, a length of wall along the Deanery Field remains undisturbed and almost certainly contains many more inscribed stones.

The numbering system used here refers to ‘The Catalogue of the Roman Inscribed and Sculptured Stones in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester’ by I.A. Richmond and R.P. Wright.1 Where appropriate the catalogue number of the Roman Inscriptions of Britain (RIB) Online has also been provided for cross reference. The RIB database includes thousands of Roman inscriptions based on the work of authoritative experts in the field such as R.G. Collingwood, R.P. Wright and R.S.O. Tomlin to name just three. (Search RIB for: “Chester (Deva) North Wall”).

To the Spirits of the Departed
The collection contains altar stones; dedications to buildings; official proprietary marks (legionary stamps); graffiti (scratched and scribbles to mark a person’s ownership of a particular item). But by far the majority of stones from the north wall were Roman tombstones and it is these that form the bulk of the assemblage in the Grosvenor Museum, claimed to be the finest collection of sepulchral monuments in Britain. The Grosvenor collection includes other stones found in Chester, such as the original altar stone dedicated to Nemesis found in the amphitheatre (a copy is currently displayed at the amphitheatre). 

Stone 108

Graham Webster2 describes Stone 108 as one of the best preserved tombstones in the collection. It is one of many stones that depict, presumably, the deceased reclining on a couch eating and drinking, as was the Roman way, at a funeral banquet, or perhaps relaxing at an afterlife feast. Webster suggests that the Romans may have adopted the concept of ancestor worship at a feast of the dead from the Etruscans. A three legged stool is often present on Sepulchral Banquet sculptures, yet the significance of this item is unknown.

Stone 108 is inscribed: “To the spirits of the departed, Curatia Dinysia lived 40 years; her heir had this erected.” [RIB 562] It is suggested that ‘Dinysia’ may be a mason’s error for Dionysia.

The framed sculpture shows two opposed Tritons blowing shell-trumpets across the sea raising waves in allusion to the after-life voyage to the Isles of the Blest. A pair of Doves are perched below this. Below them, the deceased reclines on a high-backed couch with a cup raised in her right hand.  In front of the couch is positioned a three-legged stool. The head has been defaced to render the lady unrecognisable. 

For many centuries it was very popular to decorate Roman sarcophagi with mythological scenes and we see examples of this among the Chester collection. Stone 138, part of a cornerstone of a large monument, depicts the story of Hercules and the Trojan princess Hesione. The princess is bound to a rock awaiting the arrival of a sea monster to which she has been offered in sacrifice. The part of the stone showing the monster has been broken off. The tale is from an old folk story similar to that of Perseus and Andromeda. 

Stone 139 features the tale of Actaeon who became separated from his companions while out hunting and stopped at a lake to rest when he saw Artemis bathing. Outraged, the goddess turned him into a stag and he was then hunted by his companions and torn to pieces by his own hounds. The stone shows stag’s horns starting to grow out of Actaeon’s head.

Another, Stone 140, is thought to represent the death of Adonis who was killed by a boar during a hunt. Prosperine restored him back to life on the condition that he spent six months of the year in the underworld. Stone 141 shows the Harpy, the human-headed bird of ill omen, symbolic of death.

Mythical imagery started to appear on Roman sarcophagi from he Hadrianic period (117-136 AD) reaching a peak in the later-2nd century AD with entirely decorated panels becoming increasingly popular. Then in a major change in funerary monument decoration from the mid-3rd century AD mythological imagery largely disappeared.

The Grosvenor collection holds thirteen stones commentating soldiers of Legio II Adiutrix that was stationed at Chester from AD 75 until AD 87 when they were replaced by Legio XX. Stone 23 is one such stone and reads: “Gaius Calventius Celer, son of Gaius, of the Claudian voting-tribe, from Aprus, soldier of the Second Legion Adjutrix Pia Fidelis, in the century of Vibius Clemens …. ” [RIB 475] The inscription continues but the stone is broken off at this point.

Stone 36 was set up in honour of the highest ranking officer commemorated in the collection, a praefectus castorum, camp prefect, who was responsible for the administration and supplies of the legion but would be acting commander in the absence of the legatus legionis, the officer in command of a legion, equivalent to a high ranking general today. This stone had been used as a facing stone in the eastern part of the North Wall but with the inscription turned inwards which reads:

“To the spirits of the departed, Marcus Aurelius Alexander, camp-prefect of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix, a Syrian tribesman of Osroene, lived 72 years [… ; …]yces and S[…, his heirs, set this up].” [RIB 490]. 

This stone is badly mutilated, one of the most damaged in the collection, and the remaining inscription which would have referred to his heirs who erected the stone has been broken off. The RIB online page suggests that his death cannot have occurred before Caracalla’s reign AD 198-217. The elder son of Emperor Septimius Severus known by his nickname as 'Caracalla', was actually born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, but when he was 7 years old his name was changed to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to create an association with the previous Antonine dynasty. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Emperor AD 161 to 180, is regarded as the last of the "Five Good Emperors" of Rome, the last emperor of the Pax Romana. Caracalla’s successor Elagabalus, also a nickname, original name by birth was Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, but he also changed this to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus on becoming emperor in AD 218.

In AD 212 Caracalla issued an edict, the Constitutio Antoniniana, that declared that all free men in the Roman Empire were to be given full Roman citizenship. Prior to this full Roman citizenship was limited to inhabitants of Roman Italy, Romans and their descendants living in provinces throughout the Empire, and small numbers of client kings and their nobles. As a result of Caracalla’s edict large numbers of new Roman citizens assumed the name 'Marcus Aurelius', in honour of their patron (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), including, after Caracalla and Elagabalus, nine Roman emperors over the next century; from Severus Alexander (r. AD 222-235) to Maxentius (r. AD 306–312). 

Stone 37 commemorates Marcus Aurelius Nepos, a centurion of Legio XX which has been broken horizontally through the figures. [RIB 491]. It follows that Stones 36 and 37 must have been erected after Caracalla’s edict as they both use the name Marcus Aurelius.

Dating the Tombstones
One of the Chester tombstones that continues to receive much attention, designated Stone 137 depicts a cavalryman said to be wearing scale armour and holding a draco, known as the Chester Draconarius, and although it bears no inscription being broken at this point, it is considered by many to be a Sarmatian cavalryman. 

Stone 137 - The Chester Draconarius

It follows that Stone 137 must post-date AD 175 when according to the historian Cassius Dio Emperor Marcus Aurelius sent 5,500 Sarmatians to Britain, beyond that with no inscription we have no further information suggestive of dating for this particular tombstone. Consequently, the Chester Draconarius is often cited as evidence for the presence of Sarmatian cavalry in Britain. Yet there is certainly a distinct lack of evidence for these fifty-five hundred Sarmatians in Britain. And we cannot positively rule out the possibility of the cavalryman being a Dacian auxiliary; we know that the ‘Cohors I Aelia Dacorum’, a Dacian infantry unit, raised by Hadrian no later then AD 125, was stationed for almost its entire history on Hadrian's Wall. Furthermore, a military diploma from Chester (Deva) dated AD 146 lists the 1st Aelian Cohort of Dacians which has led to speculation that a Dacian unit was stationed at Chester for a period, and the Draconarius died while on detachment. We will return to the Chester Draconarius at a later point.

Webster notes that Stone 77 is of considerable archaeological significance in providing a date for the rebuilding of the north wall of the Chester fortress. This stone, designated RIB 488 commemorates Gabinius Felix a soldier from Legio II Augusta which was stationed at Caerleon in South Wales. We can only guess at the reason for Gabinius being at Chester away from his legion when he died. After the name of the legion the letters “ANT” appear on his tombstone. Experts in Roman inscriptions have identified these three letters as standing for ‘Antoninana’ a title bestowed on Legio XX by either Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) or Elagabus, who took the same name as his predecessor. This suffix was used only between AD 213 and 222. Legions were frequently awarded titles following successful campaigns. Legio XX was awarded the titles ‘Valeria Victrix’ likely following the legion’s part in the Boudican revolt of AD 61. Then after participating in the northern campaign of Septimus Severus during 208-2011, on their return to Chester Legio XX was awarded the temporary title ‘Antoninana’ by Severus’s son Caracalla (r.AD 211-217) or his successor Elagabalus (r.AD 218-222).

It follows therefore that Felix died and the erection of his tombstone (Stone 77) occurred between AD 213 and 222. We have also seen that the Chester Draconarius (Stone 137), IF the stone depicts a Samartian, then must be dated after AD 175 when they first arrived in Britain. Stone 36 and Stone 37 both commemorate individuals named Marcus Aurelius and must date to after Caracalla’s edict of AD 212. From this very limited snapshot of the Chester tombstones we can see that the cemetery was still in use in the first half of the 3rd century. But when did the cemetery become redundant and the tombstones ripped out?

No One is Immortal
The ancient and widespread practice of ‘Spoliation’ (from the Latin for 'spoils') was particularly frequent in Late Antiquity in Italy and the Roman West. The phenomenon of tomb destruction for the re-use of Roman funerary art, particularly their marble décor, for other building purposes was a common form of spolia. Entire redundant structures were known to have been comprehensively demolished and the materials re-used in the construction of new buildings. Highly decorated funerary monuments particularly those constructed in marble where highly valued and desirable objects for recycling in later construction projects. Tomb destruction had become such a problem that by the 4th century AD that edicts were issued by emperors to halt the practice.

We only need to look as far as the late Roman city walls of London for further examples of spoliation and particularly the re-use of funerary monuments. Major sections of London’s Roman walls incorporate recycled material in the foundation layers. Elements from a monumental arch and a decorated screen have also been found within the walls. Funerary monuments have been found within the external towers. However, the lack of contemporary funerary objects found indicates that none of the tombs from which this material was sourced are contemporary with the construction of the wall; the builders appear to have purposefully avoided dismantling recently erected funerary monuments. This suggests that only redundant funerary stones were used, thereby respecting the recently departed.3

We may well wonder, at what point does a cemetery and its tombstones, set to commemorate the departed, become redundant?

The tombstones, ripped out from a Roman cemetery outside the fortress at Chester, have clearly been used to repair the defensive wall. The engineers, presumably legionaries, must have taken any large stone available at the time, perhaps the funerary stones were nearest to the construction site, indicating that the repairs were hurried, possibly following a barbarian attack.

However, the treatment of the funerary stones at Chester shows that they were not just simply re-used, they have been defaced and mutilated, inscriptions removed or obliterated; without words memorial stones become totally meaningless. We have seen above how Stone 36 commemorating the praefectus castorum, one of the highest ranking officers of the legion, is one of the most damaged in the collection having been severely mutilated. The tombstones were not just re-used, they were defaced, mutilated and inscriptions obliterated. This is suggestive that memorials to Legio XX were held in contempt at the time they were ripped out of the cemetery and used to repair the north wall. 

The destructive treatment of the tombstones of Legio XX immediately brings to mind the Roman practice of ‘Damnatio memoriae’ (condemnation of memory), the erasure of the subject from the historical record including the destruction of depictions and the removal of names from inscriptions and documents. The practice was usually exercised for usurping emperors or failed conspirators. 

The Severan Tondo

An example of damnatio memoriae can be seen on The Severan Tondo, a panel painting depicting the first two generations of the Severan dynasty; Septimius Severus, his wife Julia Domna, and their sons Caracalla and Geta. Severus intended for his sons to rule togther after his death but when he died at York in February AD 211 they showed they were incapable of ruling as joint emperors and Geta was murdered in December that year. Caracalla ordered the damnatio memoriae of Geta. The Tondo shows the face of one of Severus' sons, thought to be Geta, that has been erased as a result of the damnatio memoriae. As we saw above, the head on Stone 108 has been defaced.

If the memory of Legio XX at Chester has been deliberately obliterated can we identify when the legion fell from grace? 

Webster notes that the amount of weathering on Stone 77 indicates it remained exposed to the elements for a reasonable but not excessive period and would not have been used in the rebuilding of Chester north wall until probably the late-3rd or early-4th century, the period of reconstruction of Constantius Chlorus.

What happened to Legio XX?

Notes & References:
1. I.A. Richmond and R.P. Wright, The Catalogue of the Roman Inscribed and Sculptured Stones in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, Chester Archaeological Society, 1955.
2. Graham Webster, A Short Guide to the Roman Inscriptions & Sculptured Stones in the Grosvenor Museum Chester, Grosvenor Pubication, 1970.
3. Re-use of Roman stone in London city walls, Simon Barker, Penny Coombe & Simona Perna, pp.327-348, in Proceedings of the International conference ‘Roman ornamental stones in north-western Europe. Natural resources, manufacturing, supply, life & after-life’, Gallo-Roman Museum of Tongeren (Belgium), 20-22 April 2016. Edited by Catherine Coquelet, Guido Creemers, Roland Dreesen and Éric Goemaere.

* * *