Step 7 of 7

From big to small

Fig. 1 - Gedenkplaat met grafinscriptie en twee gaten uit Rome, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden - [Pb 42](https://hdl.handle.net/21.12126/58374) — Fig. 1 - Gedenkplaat met grafinscriptie en twee gaten uit Rome, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden - Pb 42

When we look at the size of the letters, we see that they go from big to small. The mason started with the traditional phrase DIIS MANIBUS SACRUM ("Dedicated to the spirits of …") in nice, large letters that are centered at the top.

As he went on cutting out the text, he must have miscalculated the space he had. In lines two and three the last word runs over into the next (SATURIAN- US and MENSI- BUS) - not very elegant.

And to fit the complete message to the size of the stone, he had to use progressively smaller letters in the last two lines.

One last flaw is the small hole on the lower right side of the third line. Or is it rather functional? Perhaps it was a way to attach the plaque to a larger stone or monument, as we can find holes on similar tombstones (fig. 1). Still, it is odd that there is only one hole.

Despite these cosmetic imperfections, the plaque is still a handsome tombstone and a witness of ancient society in Roman Carthage. It gives a glimpse into the world of the deceased boy, his relatives, and the mason who carved this stone.