Tuesday 28 July 2009

New Inscriptions from Vindolanda

These discoveries have hit a number of sources.

An altar to Jupiter Dolichenus:

I O M Dolocheno Sulpicius Pudens praef coh IIII Gall V S L M

To Jupiter Best and Greatest of Doliche, Sulpicius Pudens, prefect of the Fourth Cohort of Gauls, fulfilled his vow gladly and deservedly.

As Anthony Birley notes on the Vindolanda website, this must surely be the same Pudens as previous recorded commanding the cohors IIII Gallorum on a further altar RIB 1688 found re-used at some distance from the fort:
I O M COH IIII GALL CVI PRAEST II...GIVS PVDENS PRAEFECT ARAM POSVIT V S M L
This find now providing the correct nomen for the prefect.

The bottom half of a second altar has also been discovered in the shrine apparently dedicated by a prefect of the Second Cohort of Nervians but no further details seem yet to be available.

Monday 13 July 2009

RIB III - Nearly here

Been waiting for this for a long while! Expected soon...

Roman Inscriptions of Britain Volume III: Inscriptions on Stone

Sign up for a copy while it's cheap(ish). Of course this will mean updating a lot of references (but I shall want to go through all the new entries anyway; my idea of fun.)