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DIANAE · REGI NAE OS VS G · ARRIVS DOMITIANVS > LEG · XX · V · V V · S · L · L · M · |
DIANAE · REGINAE . . . . . . G · ARRIVS · DOMITIANVS · C(ENTVRIO) · LEG(IONIS) · XX · V(ALERIAE) · V(ICTRICIS) · V(OTVM) · S(OLVIT) · L(IBENS) · L(VBENS) · M(ERITO). To Diana the Queen . . . . Gaius Arrius Domitianus Centurion of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix willingly gladly deservedly has performed his vow. |
Altar to Apollo
6. The sixth altar, dedicated to Apollo, was taken out of Pit LXXXIII on 25th March, 1910. It was found at a depth of six feet from the surface, together with a separate stone which had formed its base. It is now in the National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh. The height, inclusive of the base, is three feet nine inches, and the width of the inscribed panel is twelve inches. The depth is fourteen and a half inches. Altar and base are both of red sandstone. It has the usual volutes on the capital, and between them a circular focus which shows signs either of being defaced or of unfinished work. The inscribed panel is enclosed within a complete framework of mouldings. A bow, the familiar attribute of Apollo, is carved in relief on the right side. On the left side is a much defaced representation of what may have been a bow-case or a quiver. As will be seen by reference to the illustration (Plate XVII., Fig. 2), the inscription reads:
DEO · APOLLINI · L · MAXIMIVS · GAETVLICVS · C(ENTVRIO) · LEG(ION IS).
To the God Apollo. L. Maximius Gaetulicus Centurion of the Legion.
The number of the legion, like the conventional termination V · S · L · L · M, is omitted, obviously from want of space. Fortunately an inscription from Aesica enables us to supply it. An altar found in the fort there is dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus by LUCIUS MAXIMIUS GAETULICUS, Centurion of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix. Professor Haverfield, who has dealt with the Aesica altar elsewhere, is of opinion that from its character and find-spot it should not be placed earlier than the reign of Hadrian, while from its associations it cannot be later than Severus.[1]
Inscribed Fragments
The fragments of inscribed stones are few in number, and are too incomplete to admit of any satisfactory interpretation. The largest of them (Plate XVIII., Fig. 4) came from the upper levels of the pit in the Principia (No. I). It is part of a sandstone slab. Portions of three lines of an inscription still remain. The second
1 Archaeologia Aeliana, vol. xix. p. 271.
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