Inveresk - finally this time

The latest issue of Britannia (Vol. 42 2011) arrived at my door this week and with it more detail of the Inveresk inscriptions. 'To the unconquered god Mithras, C Cas(sius) Fla(vianus) (dedicated this altar)'. That is, Flavus or Flavinus or Flavianus, or indeed possibly Flaccus (Tomlin 2011, 441-4). Still not to be seen in other than an uncleaned state (paint evidently survives and further work will be sensitive). Work towards full publication is ongoing.

Of particular interest from my point of view is the potential link to the Twentieth Legion. Entirely from the form of the letter A, but convincing nonetheless as this is distinctive on the Antonine Wall distance slabs of the legion, So, welcome C Cassius Flavus to the roster of the legion.

I am slightly less convinced by the parallels from Chester (neatly though that might tie things up), at least without seeing them again. RIB461 and RIB497 are referenced, the latter clearly shown with this letter form in RIB I, the former less clearly so.

RIB461 is in Greek in any case, so the choice of letter form may be less relevant. Unfortunately the photographs in the 1955 corpus (Wright and Richmond The Roman Inscribed and Sculptured Stones in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester) are in neither case very clear. 497 is cracked across close to the relevant point (but as drawn would indeed seem to be a clear example). Of the three letter As on 461 the first has no clear crossbar at all, the final one only a medial mark which isn't convincingly part of the letter, leaving only the third which doesn't appear entirely clear either and in the photograph the stone surface appears damaged at the relevant point. A reason for another visit to the Grosvenor Museum, I think.