Find Spot record 8088/38 - Possible tombstone from Watergate Street

Documentary sources record the discovery of an architectural fragment or tombstone from around 1730 from Watergate Street North found during the excavations of the foundations for a house. (1)

There appears to be a certain amount of confusion surrounding this discovery; Horseley reports the discovery of a tombstone during the digging of a cellar in Watergate Street in 1729 but with an illegible inscription. (2)

Foote Gower, however, reports the discovery of a sepulchral inscription from the north side of Watergate Street in 1730 during the excavation of the foundations of a house bearing the inscription D.M AELIAE AGATHE CONIVGI DENE ME. RENTI FECIT P.AELIVS AVG.LIB.HERMES.SIBI. ET.SVIS.ET.L.I.P.E. It was later in the possession of Foote Gower in the 18th century, but was reported lost in the late 19th century. If this discovery is from Roman Chester, then it is a unique example from Britain in which a master erected a tombstone in memory of his freed slaves and their children (3)

In the 20th century it was reported that a marble tombstone bearing this inscription was found in the mausoleum of the Domus Augusti in Rome in 1731 and was subsequently included in the collection gifted to the Fitzwilliam Museum by Dr J Disney in 1850. No mention of its possible origin in Chester is recorded in the Disney collection (5)

Wright interprets this inscription as discovered in Rome but subsequently believed to be British in origin. (4) However, there are anomalies also with this interpretation as it has been suggested that the terminology used in the inscription was unusual for contemporary discoveries in the Domus Augusti (6)

<1> Lawson, P H, 1926, Schedule of the Roman Remains of Chester with Maps and Plans, No 54 (Article in Journal). SCH5956.

<2> Hemingway, J., 1831, History of Chester, from its foundation to the present time. Volume 2, p351 (Book). SCH1412.

<3> Thompson Watkin W. T., 1886, Roman Cheshire: A Description of Roman Remains in the County of Chester, p208 (Book). SCH2878.

<4> Collingwood R G & Wright R P, 1965, The Roman Inscriptions of Britain: Volume I, RIB i 2323 (Monograph). SCH3235.

<5> The Fitzwilliam Museum, The Catalogue of the Fitzwilliam Museum, GR.75.1850 (Web Site). SCH6863.

<6> Various, Written Communication to the HER, P Carrington 13/08/2012 (Written Communication). SCH3756.