BIRLEY AND TOMLIN ON THE L. ARTORIUS CASTUS INSCRIPTION

The following is excerpted from Tomlin's recent book ROMANA BRITANNIA, while I cite Birley from this THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT OF BRITAIN.

NOTE: Just before he died, Birley admitted that Tomlin was right about ARMENIOS being the war fought by Marcus and Verus, rather than seeking this action under subsequent emperors.

These two treatments of the stone show that its inscription, barring some simple errors, is quite straight-forward.  We are not justified in "reading into it" what isn't there.  These experts are also the authorities on the subject and amateur epigraphers would be wise to avoid attempting their own imaginative reconstructions of the stone.

TOMLIN:

BIRLEY:

A funerary inscription from Epetium, near Salonae in Dalmatia, records the

career of Lucius Artorius Castus, who had been prefect of the legion VI

Victrix and then commander of a task force of two British legions against a

people whose name used to be restored as Arm[oricano]s, that is, the

Armoricans of western Gaul:

CIL iii. 1919+add.=ILS 2770+add.=Pflaum, CP no. 196=X. Loriot, BSNAF (1997), 855ff: D(is)

M(anibus) | L(ucius) Artori[us Cas]tus, 7 le[g(ionis)] | III Gallicae, item [7 le]g(ionis) VI Ferra4|tae, item 7

leg(ionis) II Adi[utricis, i]tem 7 leg(ionis) V M[a]c(edonicae), item p(rimus)p(ilus) eiusdem [leg(ionis)], praeposito

| classis Misenatium, [item pr]aef(ecto) leg(ionis) VI Victricis, duci legg(=legionum) [duaru]m

Britanici|miarum (sic) adversus Arme[nio]s, proc(uratori) cente|nario Lib[urniae iure] gladi, vi8|vus ipse sibi

et suis [ . . . ]st.

To the divine shades. Lucius Artorius Castus, centurion of the Third Legion Gallica, also

centurion of the Sixth Legion Ferrata, also centurion of the Second Legion Adiutrix, also centurion

of the Fifth Legion Macedonica, also chief centurion of the same legion, in charge of the

Misenum fleet, prefect of the Sixth Legion Victrix, commander of two British legions against

the Armenians, centenary procurator of Liburnia with the power of the sword. He himself (set

this up) for himself and his family in his lifetime.⁷⁹

This command over the task force of British legions has frequently been dated

to the reign of Commodus and associated with the ‘deserters’ war’ in that

reign.⁸⁰ However, the improved reading by Loriot shows that Arme[nio]s, the

Armenians, must be restored in line 7. Hence the context is an eastern expedition,

most probably either under Caracalla in 215 (cf. Dio 77. 21) or Severus

Alexander.⁸¹