Fig. 8.—Spear-head Dedicated by Theodoros to (Zeus) Basileus. (No. 14). 1:3.
Emblem of Office.—The bronze caduceus (No. 17), (familiar as the emblem of the herald Mercury), is inscribed "I belong to the people of Longene," and was apparently the staff of the public herald of that town. It was found in a tomb in Sicily, and is of the fifth century B.C. The device is in the form of a staff, surmounted by a pair of intertwined serpents.
Roman military Life.—This is illustrated by two of the Latin inscriptions here shown. The oblong bronze tablet No. 18 (figs. 9a and 9b) is part of a Roman diploma, a document recording privileges in respect of citizenship and rights of marriage granted to a veteran soldier. The diploma derived its name from the fact that it was composed of two tablets hinged together. We have in the present instance only the left side of one of the tablets. The right side, which had two holes for the metal rings attaching it to the other tablet, has been broken away. The inscription[6] is a copy of one originally engraved on bronze and set up on the wall behind the temple of Augustus ad Minervam at Rome. It is headed with the names of M. Julius Philippus, the Emperor, and of his son, who had the title of Caesar. This is followed by the grant of full matrimonial rights to the soldiers of ten cohorts and by the date, equivalent to Jan. 7th, 246 A.D. Next comes the name of the individual soldier to whom this copy of the original inscription was given, one Neb. Tullius, a veteran of the fifth praetorian cohort of Philip at Aelia Mursa in Pannonia. The grant of full matrimonial privileges was a considerable one, for it meant that the veteran's wife and children gained the privileges of Roman citizens, if, as was often the case, the wife was not possessed of citizen rights at the time of marriage. The two holes in the middle of the tablet were used for the wire thread, which was passed round the tablets three times according to the usual official custom, and had the seals of seven witnesses affixed to it. Fig. 9b is a restoration showing the original form of the document opened, the exterior of the two tablets being seen. This diploma was found in Piedmont. Parts of similar documents will be seen exhibited in the Room of Roman Britain.
Fig. 9a.—Fragment of a Bronze diploma (No. 18). Ht. 5½ in.
Fig. 9b.—The above diploma RESTORED.
Near the diploma is a small bronze ticket (No. 19), inscribed on either side. One side bears the name of Ti(berius) Claudius Priscus, the other records that he belonged to the fourth praetorian cohort and the centuria Paterni.
Corn Largesses.—From the end of the second century B.C. it had become a regular feature of Roman policy to supply the populace of the city with corn either gratis or at an artificially cheap rate. After the fall of the Republic the Emperors carried still further the policy of free distributions (congiaria or liberalitates). It has been reckoned that the annual cost of their largesses averaged £90,000 from Julius Caesar to Claudius, and £300,000 from Nero to Septimius Severus. Persius, who wrote in the time of Nero, notes with a sneer that it was one of the privileges of the meanest Roman citizen to exchange his ticket for a portion of musty flour. This policy of the Emperors is illustrated by the inscribed corn-ticket (tessera frumentaria) shown in this Case (No. 20; fig. 10). It is inscribed on one side, Ant(onini) Aug(usti) Lib(eralitas) II., i.e., the second special largess of Antoninus, perhaps Antoninus Pius, who reigned from 138-161 A.D. On the other side appears fru(mentatio) LXI., i.e. the sixty-first monthly corn distribution, dating doubtless from the accession of Antoninus. The letters were originally inlaid with silver, as is shown by the remains of that metal in the numerals. The sepulchral inscription mentioned on p. [224] should be studied in connection with this corn-ticket.
