grafsteen van Gumattius
- Showpiece
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Gravestone
Circa 100 AD, limestone, height 145 cm, Dodewaard (Betuwe)
In the Netherlands a few dozen tombstones from the Roman period have been found. This tombstone was preserved because it was built into the churchtower in Dodewaard. The deceased is depicted eating while lying on a couch. A servant is standing at his feet.
The death meal is a frequently depicted scene on tombstones. Above the death meal there is a frieze depicting a Sphinx, flanked by lions. They had to protect the grave and the deceased against evil.
The inscription tell us the identity of the deceased: 'Marcus Traianius Gumattius, son of Gaisio, veteran of the African cavalry, ordered this to be erased in his will.' Gumattius is a German name. The African cavalry unit came to Germania inferior, the province the Netherlands were part of in the Roman period, at the time of the Batavian revolt (70 AD). Here they recruited new men, Gumattius was probably one of them. After his time in the army he obtained Roman civil rights, which can be inferred from his three part name.
- Date of creation
- van 98 tot 150
- Period
- Object type
- tombstones (sepulchral monuments)
- Dimensions
- Collection
- Archeological finds from the Netherlands
- Institution
- Source
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- signatuur: Dd 1863 (grafsteen; romeins), Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden
- Copyright
- for information contact: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden
- Keyword
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