Cup-bearer of Constantius II and Early Christian inscriptions from the necropolis of St Synerotes in Sirmium

Abstract

– During the archaeological excavations performed in 1969/70 at the northern necropolis of Sirmium, around the Basilica of St Synerotes, a few sepulchral slabs with inscriptions and symbols of Early Christian character were discovered. The inscription on one slab, which reads: [ ̄1 ? M]arturiu/[s p]incerna / [C]onstanti / [I]nperatori/[s (!) qui] vixsit (!) an/n[is] nonag/inta una cu/m matron/a sua Man/[-, shows that this is a tombstone of a certain Marturius, the cup-bearer of Constantius II. This emperor spent many months in Sirmium during 351–352 and 357–359, celebrating twice in this city the triumph over Quadi and Sarmatae, and intensifying not only the building of its infrastructure, but also of the sacral structures. As a fervent Christian of Arian orientation, he organised four ecclesiastical synods in Sirmium. On another slab, an inscription in Greek letters is written around a Christogram in a double circle, while on the third slab, decorated with floral motifs around a Christogram, the inscription is partly preserved. These tombstones are located south of the southern portico of Basilica of St Synerotes.