Mapping Migration in Roman Iberia

Categories

Bibliographic references

HEpOnl: This provides the number of the inscription as given in the Hispania Epigraphica database.

CIL II: This provides the number of the inscription as given in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, where applicable. All references are to volume II, Inscriptiones Hispaniae Latinae. A second edition is being prepared, of which part 5 (Conventus Astigitanus), part 7 (Conventus Cordubensis), and part 14 (Conventus Tarraconensis, in 3 fascicles) are currently available; references to these editions are denoted by the relevant part number (e.g. 7,388).

AE: This provides the number of the inscription as given in L’Année épigraphique, where applicable.

EDH: This provides the number of the inscription as given in the Epigraphic Database Heidelberg, where applicable.

Monument details

Monument Type: This relates to the nature of the monument on which the inscription is located. The categories used are altar; architectural; block; cenotaph; cippus; cupa; instrumentum domesticum; relief; sarcophagus; slab; statue base; stele; tabula; undefined. These categories are based on those on the Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. Where no details are provided about the nature of the monument, this is categorised as undefined.

Inscription Type: This relates to the nature of the inscription itself. The categories used are building/dedicatory; epitaph; honorific; undefined; votive. These categories are based on those on the Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. If the nature of the inscription is unclear, it is categorised as undefined.

Date: The vast majority of the inscriptions cannot be dated, but where given, dates have been included. These are most often given as a range, because dating is typically done on stylistic or palaeographic grounds and is therefore only approximate.

Person details

Name of Migrant: This is the name of the individual who is provided with an origin on the inscription. This is typically, but not exclusively, the deceased named on a funerary monument, the honorand in an honorific inscription, or the dedicator on a votive or dedicatory inscription. On some occasions, more than one migrant is named on an inscription and so several migrants on the map can sometimes be linked to a single inscription.

Age: This is the age of a migrant at the point of death, if provided on an epitaph. Most are just given in years, but some also include months and days, and others are approximate, given as plus minus, marked here as +/-. Those that are uncertain are marked with a question mark, and if the inscription is fragmentary and only the beginning of a number is known, this is indicated by + after the number (e.g. 20+ if only XX is certain on the inscription).

Sex: This is determined by the name of the migrant and marked as F (female) or M (male). No sex is given for inscriptions where names are uncertain or missing, and these are classed as U (undefined).

Legal Status: 4 categories are used here, which are explained further below: Freeborn; Freed; uncertain; and enslaved.

  • Freeborn: Freeborn status is indicated in this corpus of inscriptions by the presence of filiation (i.e. the inclusion of a father’s name, and on occasion, also grandfather), or the mention of a father or a mother in the inscription. Those who held roles in local administration are also designated as freeborn, since the enslaved and formerly enslaved were excluded from local governance (Curchin 1990: 71-73). The notable exception is the post of Augustalis (also known as sevir Augustalis and sometimes just sevir), which was typically, although not exclusively, held by the formerly enslaved, with some local variation in the balance between free and freed office holders (Mouritsen 2011: 249; 255). Since being freeborn was a requisite for service in the Roman army (e.g. Corpus Papyrorum Latinarum 102), all soldiers are recorded as freeborn, even if no explicit designation of status is provided.
  • Freed: This category records individuals who demonstrate that they were manumitted from slavery by the use of the term libertus/a. Other individuals categorised as uncertain may also be formerly enslaved but do not explicitly state their status so are not included here.
  • Uncertain: This denotes those whose status is uncertain, and who may be freeborn, enslaved or freed (formerly enslaved). Some individuals, for example, use the tria nomina formula but lack filiation or indication of freed status, and it is difficult to know if they were freeborn or freed. Anonymous inscriptions are also designated as uncertain, as are the gladiators, since although most gladiators were enslaved, some were freeborn people who voluntarily became gladiators; Wiedemann, for example, considers the anonymous Bessian commemorated at Cadiz to be a free man (HEp 1371; Wiedemann 1992: 114; on the status of gladiators in general, see 102-27). Some of the individuals recorded with single names may have been enslaved but this is also unclear so they have been classed as uncertain. For more on Roman naming practices and status, see Bruun and Edmundson 2015: 801-03.
  • Enslaved: This category records individuals whose enslaved status is clearly indicated by the use of the term servus/a.

Voting Tribe: This records the voting tribe of the individual, where given, and denotes a Roman citizen.

Profession: A small number of inscriptions state the profession of the individual named, particularly on epitaphs. Those who served in the military are recorded as soldiers in this category. Gladiator is also included as a profession.

Administrative / Religious Office: This records any administrative or religious office held, where given. These are primarily roles in local administration, but also include the office of provincial priest or priestess.

Social ‘Rank’: The social status of most of the individuals recorded here is unknown, but where possible, the social category into which the individual should be placed is noted here. If individuals are known to have held an office in local administration, they are recorded as being of ‘decurion rank’; a small number are known to be equestrians.

Method of denoting origin: Origin can be denoted in a number of different ways; further details of the individual categories are given below.

  • Adjectival: Origin is most commonly expressed through the adjectival form of a city or a people. The adjectival case typically agrees with that of the name of the individual in question.
  • Domo: The term domo is used in conjunction with a place name.
  • Ex: Some origo are indicated by the use of the preposition ex (out of) plus a place name.
  • Misc: This category is reserved for miscellaneous designations of origo, such as those linked to the holding of an office in a particular place, or being a freed slave of a particular place, as well as rare designations, for instance, the use of the terms colonus (HEpOnl. 14973), natus (HEpOnl. 21102), and oriundus (HEpOnl. 19953). Those whose origins are not given, but whose death in a different location is commemorated in a particular place are also included in this category.
  • Natio: Natio is used in the ablative, coupled with the name of a people or a place, typically in the nominative form, to denote a geographical origin and/or an ethnicity.
  • Onomastic: This category denotes individuals with ethnically-derived cognomina, stemming from the names of cities or of peoples. For more detail, please see Denoting Origin.
  • Origo: Used in the ablative form (i.e. origine), with an adjectival form of a city, agreeing in case with the name of the individual concerned.
  • Place name: Occasionally, a place name is simply included, with no further details.
  • Verna: The term verna is typically used to designate a slave born in a master’s household, but on occasion it is also employed on inscriptions to denote an individual as being from a particular place (Starr 1942).

Places

Origin (Ancient): The ancient place name. If it is not certain that the inscription is referring to a particular place, a question mark follows the place name. Most of these uncertain examples relate to fragmentary inscriptions or different spellings of place names; where necessary, further discussion can be found in the commentary.

Origin (Modern): Where applicable, this provides the modern place name.

Origin (People): This field records the origin of the migrant among a particular people.

Origin (Province): The province in which the point of origin is located.

Origin (Conventus): The conventus in which the point of origin is located.

Findspot (Ancient): This provides the ancient place name of the findspot, if known. Ancient places close to findspots are also noted here. If there is any uncertainty about the ancient location of a place or its name, it is followed by a question mark.

Findspot (Modern): The modern place name of the findspot location.

Findspot (Province): The province in which the findspot is located.

Findspot (Conventus): The conventus in which the findspot is located.

Distances moved (km): This represents the journey length as a straight line between the findspot of the inscription and the designated point of origin.

Edition

Text: Here the expanded text of the inscription is provided. This is typically drawn from Hispania Epigraphica Online, although sometimes editorial decisions have been made to modify the text to reflect alternative readings based on a consideration of the inscription itself, and/or readings given on Epigraphic Database Heidelberg, L’Année épigraphique, and/or CIL.

Apparatus: This contains any variant readings and details of any editorial decisions made about the reading of the inscription.

Translation: This provides an English translation of the inscription.

Commentary: This field contains any relevant additional information, or further explanation of editorial decisions made, including about mapping.