The Tombstone of M. Caelius

The tombstone is in many respects of great historical importance. To this day it represents the sole epigraphic reference to the campaign of P. Quinctilius Varus. He lost it in AD 9 in an immense battle against a coalition of Germanic tribes led by the Cheruscan prince Arminius. In the so-called catastrophe of the Teutoburg Forest, about 25,000 Roman soldiers were killed, half of all the Roman soldiers that were stationed on the Rhine at that time. After the long search for the location of the “Battle of the Teutoburg Forest,” today there is increasing archaeological evidence that it possibly took place, at least in part, near Kalkriese, in the District of Osnabrueck. 

This inscription decorates a so-called cenotaph, which means that on this spot the deceased M. Caelius is to be remembered, not, however, that he necessarily lies buried here. It is probable that it once stood on Fürstenberg (Prince Mountain) across from the mouth of the river Lippe, near what is to today the city of Xanten. In Roman times, the large military fortress Vetera castra was located here. Later the tombstone was walled up in the cloister on Fürstenberg, until it was brought to Kleve and Prince Moritz von Nassau-Oranien, the governor of the Netherlands, wanted to use it as his own tombstone. The tombstone is referred to in literature from 1630 on.

The tombstone shows in a relief a Roman soldier who is flanked on his right and left by two other persons. The inscription in the recessed field reads: 

M(arco) Caelio T(iti) f(ilio) Lem(onia tribu) Bon(onia)

[I] o(rdini) leg(ionis) XIIX ann(orum) LIII

[ce]cidit bello Variano ossa

[i]nferre licebit P(ublius) Caelius T(iti) f(ilius)

Lem(onia tribu) frater fecit

The translation reads: 

“For Marcus Caelius, the son of Titus, from the constituency of Lemonia, from Bologna, the centurion of the First Cohort of Legion XVIII, 53 years old. He fell in the war of Varus. It will be permitted to bury [his] bones here. Publius Caelius, the son of Titus, from the constituency of Lemonia, his brother, made [this tombstone].”

Two other inscriptions can be discerned in the relief:

M(arcus) Caelius M(arcus) Caelius

M(arci) l(ibertus) M(arci) l(ibertus)

Privatus Thiaminus

The translations read:

“Marcus Caelius Privatus, the freedman of Marcus [Caelius].”

“Marcus Caelius Thiaminus, the freedman of Marcus [Caelius].”

According to this inscription, at issue here is the tombstone of Marcus Caelius, the son of Titus Caelius. As was common in the early Roman Empire, M. Caelius did not yet bear a cognomen, a surname. This is in keeping with the early dating of the inscription, which is also given by the bellum Varianum in the third line of the inscription. As a Roman citizen, M. Caelius was entitled to vote in the district of Lemonia and came from what is today Bologna in Northern Italy, which belonged to this tribus, thus to this constituency. 

He served as a centurion, the commander of a century, in the First Cohort of Legion XVIII. A century included about 80-100 soldiers, whereas a legion, which was divided into ten cohorts, had about 6,000 soldiers of authorized strength.

Since of concern is a cenotaph and the fallen soldier’s mortal remains apparently could not be recovered from the battlefield, Marcus’s brother named Publius Caelius, who also was a son of Titus and belonged to the constituency of Lemonia, decided that the bones of his brother should be buried here. Publius also saw to it that this tombstone was erected here.

Inadvertently, the stonemason chiseled an “E” instead of the proper “F” at the end of the fourth line. In addition, many words in the inscription are divided by hederae, word dividers in the form of small ivy leaves.

In addition, the two freedmen of Marcus Caelius are mentioned here, namely, a M. Caelius Privatus and a M. Caelius Thiaminus. While they still served M. Caelius as slaves, their forenames were simply Privatus and Thiaminus. After having been freed, however, they received a complete set of three names, the Roman tria nomina, which included the first and family names of their former master, Marcus Caelius. As their last names, they added their own names, Privatus and Thiaminus. Whereas Privatus is a commonplace name in Rome, the name Thiaminus probably comes from the Greek-speaking East of the Imperium Romanum, as did many slave names. Greek slave names are, to be sure, not altogether infrequent in the western part of the Roman Empire.

The fact that Legion XVIII, in which M. Caelius served as a centurion, was destroyed in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, can also be gathered only from this inscription. Along with it, the Legions XVII and XIX as well as numerous contingents of auxiliary troops were also decimated by Arminius and the Germanic tribes. It need not be the case that M. Caelius died in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. He might also have been killed in another skirmish of the campaign of AD 9. To this day it is still unclear where Legion XVIII was stationed at this time. Since the M. Caelius’s tombstone was found near Vetera, not far from Xanten on the Lower Rhine, it may be assumed that the legion had its fixed quarters in this large base camp in AD 9.

The significance of the tombstone is not to be underestimated for the history of art as well. It was made at the very outset of Roman tombstone sculpture in Germany and its formation points to strong influences from Northern Italy. 

In a so-called aedicula, a tympanum, three figures may be discerned, of which the middle figure is especially emphasized and given prominence. The relief is framed on the left and right by pilasters and above by a magnificently decorated gable, which is adorned with an acanthus chalice with flower stems. Above this, two waved bands may be discerned. These decorations bear a resemblance to those of the peace altar of Emperor Augustus in Rome. Whereas in the middle portion, in a so-called tabula ansata, a recessed field, the inscription for those who died in the battle may be read, the upper portion is dominated completely by the vivid depiction of three persons, of which the figure of M. Caelius is particularly emphasized.

He is rendered here obviously in a sitting position and is protected by leather armor, the lorica, which is continued on his arms and the lower part of his body with leather strips. Under it, his tunic is partially visible on his arms and at the base of his neck. The right forearm is bent severely and his hand is holding a long stick, the so-called vitis. It typically identifies a Roman centurion, an instrument of corporal punishment with which he occasionally laid into the soldiers and reprimanded them so as to instill order and discipline in them. The end of the stick extends beyond the inscription table. Also characteristically, above his left shoulder and left arm lies the so-called sagum, the typical mantle or cloak of a soldier.

In addition to these insignia of rank, M. Caelius proudly wears his complete military decorations, the so-called phalerae, which are attached to a network of leather straps on the breastplate. They show diverse motifs, such as, e.g., the head of Medusa, the heads of two youths with wreaths of ivy, and a lion’s head. In addition, he has donned an armilla (armlet) on each wrist. On his head he proudly wears a corona civica, a military decoration he received for saving a Roman citizen. Furthermore, to his shoulder straps are attached two torques, which were hung from cloth loops tied to lion’s head disks, which themselves are possibly phalerae.

These are all military decorations or honors which M. Caelius was awarded during his military career for exceptional service.

On the left and the right of M. Caelius are two busts, each of which stands on a pedestal. The which can be seen to be the portraits of both of his freedmen. These pedestals bear their names. The question of whether they were killed along with M. Caelius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and were likewise to have been or were buried on this spot cannot be answered.