Epitaph for Caius Ursius Clemens

Epitaph for Caius Ursius Clemens, son of Publius, buried at the age of 21 and member of the tribe Galeria, which means that, being born free, at the time of his death he enjoyed all the rights of a Roman citizen. The text is engraved upon a plaque found during the 1962 archaeological campaign, in Praça da Figueira. The monument's shape, with a semi-circular upper section, seems to indicate this plaque was set within another funerary monument, perhaps on the top of a
cupa
(monument with a shape similar to a half-cylinder used to indicate gravesite) built in stone (some stones, already without inscriptions, were found on the site during the 1999-2001 campaigns), or as a lid for one of the niches in a
columbarium
(monument with a number a niches where lay the urns with the ashes of the deceased). On the same site, in a previous archaeological campaign, another plaque of similar shape was found that refers three additional elements of this family, suggesting the existence of a common monument for the whole family (
columbarium
,
mausoleum
...) or at least a space in the
necropolis
reserved for their funerary monuments.

Type of inscription

Funerary

Language

Latin

Technique

Engraving

Reading

C(aius) VRSIVS P(ublii) F(ilius)/ GAL(eria tribu) CLEMENS/ ANN(orum) XXI H(ic) S(itus) E(st)

Translation

Here lies Caius Ursius Clemens, son of Publius, of the tribe Galeria, aged 21.

Present location

Museum of Lisbon | Pimenta Palace

Discovery location

Praça da Figueira, Lisboa

Suggested reading

Almeida, J. M.; Ferreira, F. B. (1965) - Varia epigraphica (nova série). Revista de Guimarães. Guimarães: Sociedade Martins Sarmento. 75, pp. 82-109.

Ferreira, F. A. R. B. (1962) - Diário das Escavações Sistemáticas na Praça da Figueira em Lisboa. Lisboa: Junta Nacional da Educação, Lisboa (manuscrito - exemplar policopiado a partir de microfilme).

Ramirez Sádaba, J. L. (2002) - O homem e a morte na Lusitânia. In Ribeiro, J. C., coord. - Religiões da Lusitânia. Loquuntur Saxa. Lisboa: Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, pp. 301-305.

Useful links

Identification code​

LxRomana1106015