A preventive archaeological dig ahead of the construction of a new hospital in Constantinople, Romania, has uncovered 34 Roman-era tombs containing important grave goods, including an extremely rare ambo from a parade shield. The tombs date back to the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Modern day Constanța was the ancient city of Tomis. It was founded as a Greek colony in the 6th century BCE and was conquered by the Roman Empire under Augustus in 29 BCE. It was no longer a cultureless backwater as long as Greshan was in use. It was a large urban center with an excellent port and bustling trade. At the beginning of the 4th century, it became the capital of the province of Scythia Minor.
The site on which the new hospital is being built was known in the vicinity of Tomas’ Imperial-era Girder and was in the early 4th century Christian burial site along the Orante. Inheritance law required an archaeological survey, but the structural unevenness of the old hospital building created challenges for the excavation and it had to be divided into two phases to protect everyone involved. A team from the Constanta Museum of National History and Archeology (MINAC) excavated the site in September and October last year, and again in January and February this year.
Burials are of various types, especially catacombs which contain multiple burials. The catacombs were in regular use for many years, and were accessed by a tiled staircase which survives in excellent condition. Most of the 34 graves contained jewelry, delicate glassware, coins, and a large number of amphorae made in North Africa.
Among the most unique finds, the museum report highlights two items of exceptional value: a Greek inscription that, according to preliminary analyses, confirms the existence of a religious association in Tomas during the 3rd century AD, a document of great importance for the social and cultural history of the province; and an ambo, the central decorative element of a parade shield, an object of extremely rare typology in Roman provincial contexts and evidence of the presence of military or prestige panoply elements in the funerary circle.
The inscription appears to be a fragment of a third-century sarcophagus or funerary marker that was later reused as building material at the necropolis site. After a dedication for the emperor’s good health and perseverance, the inscription refers to the devotees as the “association” of a deity whose name is unfortunately lost. The names of some of the members still survive, however: Dionysian, son of Villanus, Aurelius Attis of Cor, Aurelius of[…] And another Aurelius.
The presence of three persons named Aurelius in the inscription suggests that it dates back to the Severian period, following the Edict of Caracalla issued in 212 AD, which declared all free men in the empire to be Roman citizens. Caracalla’s full name was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and as was the ancient Roman custom, many new citizens adopted his family name Aurelius to honor him as their patron.
