Roman military tombstones

The archaeology of death in the Roman period provides great detail into the lives and practices of the Imperial Roman army.

The most familiar form of commemoration in death is the standing stone stelae; stone slabs taller than they are wide upon which they are inscribed with simple commemorative epitaphs. This may simply include a bordered written inscription, or one with added iconography of the deceased.

Military tombstones are most commonly from the 1st and 2nd centuries CE; the pre-Marian army used soldiers for specific campaigning periods; such soldiers would return to civilian life after serving in Rome's conflicts. The longer terms of military service instituted in the late 1st century BCE provide more numerous examples.

The Latin inscriptions on such tombstones can provide details on several aspects of life in the Roman army including:

Age - Through the Latin 'ANNORUM', an age at death is often provided like in modern headstones. Of a sample of 531 tombstones from the Roman period it was found that a trend exists whereby the age at death is rounded to the nearest five or ten, but this is not a uniform pattern.

Enlistment- Vegetius argues that enlistment occurs upon entering puberty, but Scheidel's sample discovered that around 50% of the tombstones showed enlistment occurring between ages 17 and 20, with an increase to 80% if ages 17 to 24 are included. There are also five examples of enlistment between ages 33 to 36 and one example at age 13.

Rank - Rank is an important factor in the Roman Army and one that is clearly visible in death. Examples exist showing the rank and file of the legions and auxiliary units, but also of centurions, standard-bearers, bene ficarii – units attached to the legatus's bodyguard and armourers,

One of the most famous tombstones from the Roman world is one of a centurion named Marcus Caelius. The inscription reads thus:

M[arco] CAELIO T[iti] F[ilio] LEM[onia tribv] BON[onia] I O[rdinis] LEG[ionis] XIIX ANN[orvm] LIIIS OCCIDIT BELLO VARIANO OSSA INFERRE LICEBIT P[vblivs] CAELIVS T[iti] F[ilivs] LEM[onia tribv] FRATER FECIT

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