# Notices by the Rev. T. Surridge ... of Roman Inscriptions Discovered at High Rochester, Risingham and Rudchester, in Northumberland/High Rochester inscriptions

ROMAN REMAINS
FOUND IN
NORTHUMBERLAND.
HIGH ROCHESTER INSCRIPTIONS, &c.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL.
Sir,—Having only within a few days heard of the diggings (not for gold, but for knowledge,) now carried on by the munificence of His the Duke of Northumberland, at Rochester, I on Monday rode across the moors to see them. After having experienced a heavy thunder storm, from the effects of which I was soon relieved by the kindness and hospitality of the Rev. Mr. Preston and his amiable consort, I went in company with him to the scene of explorations, which appear to me at present to be carried on in the burial ground of the Roman Garrison. Urns, with their contents (the ashes of burned dead), decomposed human bones and skulls, evince that it was used as a place of interment, both before and subsequent to the introduction of Christianity. Mr. Preston kindly supplied me with a copy of the inscription on the altar, and helped me in decyphering it. On my return home I examined it more carefully, and supposing that the result may be acceptable to your readers, whether I may have been anticipated in this respect or not, I send you my exposition of it, thinking that if others have ​given the same it will be corroborative of their interpretation, or if not, it may afford some little help in the elucidation.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
THOMAS SURRIDGE, Clerk, LL.D.
Rectory, Thorneyburn, Sept. 8th, 1852.
*Vide Letter 25th Oct. 1852. See Fig. 1. Plate 1.
S I G N O R V M
C O H I V A R D V M
E T N E X P L O R A
T O R B R E M C O R
E G N A T L V C L L I
A N V S L E G A V G Qr Qr
C V R A N T E C A S S I O
S A B I N I A N O Tr B
Inscription expanded.
Gratiâ Domini Nostri et Signorum Cohortis 4tæ Aram Diis Universis Manibus et Numinibus Exploratorum Britanniæ, eximiæ Memoriæ, Condidit Regnator Lucilianus legionis Augustalis (Pro quæstor vel prætor)—Curante Cassio Sabiniano Tribuno.
Translation.
Under the favour of our and our Standards' Lord the Governor Lucilianus Quæstor (or Prætor) of the Augustan Legion (or Augustan Lieutenant) built this Altar to the Universal Manes of the 4th Legion and to the Gods of the Explorators of Britain of illustrious memory—Cassius Sabinianus the Tribune superintending.
Alnwick Castle, September 18th, 1852.
Dear Sir,—I have to acknowledge the receipt of yours, forwarding a Translation of the Inscription recently discovered at Rochester, which I handed to the Duke of Northumberland, and beg you to accept his Grace's best thanks for the same.
Truly and respectfully yours,
HUGH TAYLOR.
Rev. Dr. Surridge.
THE ROMAN ALTAR AT ROCHESTER.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL.
Sir,—Your impression of last week contains a very erroneous reading and translation, by the Rev. Thomas Surridge, LL.D. of the inscription on an altar lately discovered at Rochester, in Northumberland, and I feel that to allow such a reading and translation to pass without observation, and without correction, would afford good ground for reflection on the Archæological Institute so lately assembled at Newcastle. If your correspondent had been present at the meeting of the Institute, he might have avoided the errors into which he has fallen by studying the readings of this inscription by Mr. Bruce and Mr. Clayton, which (as stated by the Hon. Mr. Liddell, who presided over the section,) having been made separately and distinctly, were found, on comparison, to be identical. The letters on the stone are—
The reading of these letters by the two gentlemen above-named—
The value of this inscription consists in its confirmation of the pre-existing evidence of the facts, that Rochester of the present day was the Bremenium of the Romans, the first station on the first Iter of Antoninus, that it was one of the Castra Exploratorum, and that the first cohort of the Varduli garrisoned it.** Editor's Remark: Yet the question arises, was the Roman empire established at the time this altar was erected, and if not, why should it be erected to an Emperor's genius who never had existence, unless it was erected by order of Augustus Cæsar to that of his uncle Julius Cæsar, whose name would certainly not have been omitted? There is no doubt of the perfect accuracy of the reading of the two local antiquaries; the prænomen of Lucilianus the Legate seems somewhat singular: but it is taken as it stands upon the stone. Your clerical correspondent may be, and no doubt is, a scholar, but the expounder of the inscriptions which the Romans left behind them in Britain must be a scholar, and something more; he must be a conversant with the style and form of these inscriptions; he must have some knowledge of the habits of that people, and the manner of their occupation of this country, in all which particulars Dr. Surridge appears to be deficient.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant.
A SOUTHERN MEMBER OF THE ARCHÆOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
London, September 15.
Thorneyburn, 24th September, 1852.
Mr. Editor,—The criticism of (as he pretends to be and signs himself) a southern Member of the Archæological Society, wasted on my explanation of the inscription on the Roman Altar at Rochester, would be ​wholly unworthy of notice did it not attempt to shelter the ignorance of the writer by the highly respectable names of Clayton and Bruce, gentlemen than whom none can be more deservedly esteemed nor more zealous in their desire to discover and promulgate truth, and who, I am convinced, would not only be the last persons in the world to smother inquiry after it, but the first to discourage the dissemination of any mistake which may have inadvertently arisen in its pursuit—from the frequently intentional and enigmatical difficulties of Heathen inscriptions on the Shrines and Altars of their imaginary Gods—aided by the further impediments thrown in the way by the prejudices of preconceived fancies and theories, which naturally warp and incline us to square our explanations by them. From these (though in the embryo critic's opinion it may be considered as a great defect) I was happily free, which probably was the cause of my being able to decipher the true meaning of the Altar inscription. To criticise the translation of a gentleman admitted (though reluctantly) to be a scholar, requires scholarship in my critic, who however he may be qualified to act as a pioneer, to wield the mattock and the spade for Archæological researches, should be cautious of wielding his pen, until he can show better credentials for the office he assumes, than rank nonsense attempted to be clothed in Dog-Latin.
The most illiterate sentinel that ever paced the Roman Wall would scorn to accept it as the language of his country, and resent it as an insult to his Quæstor and Tribune, (holding offices of high rank, similar to those of our Chancellor of the Exchequer and Commander-in-Chief,) who, I rather think, would not feel themselves flattered by seeing their despatches written in Cockney. If you will be kind enough to find room in your paper for this letter, and my full explanation of the Roman inscription herewith sent, you will do justice to your Roman Altar Correspondents, and greatly oblige,
Your faithful and obedient servant,
THOMAS SURRIDGE
ROMAN ANTIQUITIES—ROCHESTER ALTAR. DR. SURRIDGE'S KEY.
Write down the letters in the order in which they occur, (which was probably the mode adopted by some unlearned stonemason, ignorant of the language of his great employers, the Roman Tribune and Quæstor, and totally disregarding their formation into words); point them off into the usual abbreviations, so well known to the Romans, and not unknown in our own language, for we write Ed. for Editor; Esq. for Esquire; Rt. Hble. for Right Honourable; Mr. for Mister; D.D. for Doctor of Divinity; LL.D. for Doctor of Laws, &c. &c.
Viz.:—G.D.N. et Signorum Coh: Iv-ar: D.V.M. et n. Explorator: Em: Co: Regnat: Lvcilianvs Leg. Avg. Qr. Qr. Cvrante Cassio Sabiniano Tr. B.
Abbreviations explained.
G.D.N. Gratiâ Domine Nostri—Coh: IV. Cohortis quartæ—A.R: Aram—D.V.M. Diis Universis Manibus—N. Numinibus—Explorator: Exploratorum—BR: Britanniæ—E.M. Eximiæ Memoriæ—CO.: Condidit:—Regnat: Regnator—Leg. Avg: Legionis Augustalis (vel Legatus Augustalis)—Qr. Qr. Quæstor or Proquæstor—Tr. B. Tribuno—Vide Ains. Dic.
Let some learned critic compare the foregoing explanations of Dr. Surridge with that of a Southern Member of the Archæological Society, and he will soon be able to say which is the more correct translation, and which is more in accordance with a person's exposition, who is "conversant with the style and form of these inscriptions, which the Romans left behind them, to decipher which requires something more than sholarship," though more liberally allowed than the Southern Member of the Archæological Society is pleased to admit Dr. Surridge to possess. Perhaps the following notice would serve on his next attempt at smothering inquiry respecting Roman altars in Britain:—
"Procul, O Procul este profani."—Virgil.
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Drawn by John Bell. Lamberts Zinc$^y$, Newcastle
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O Bremenium! O Roman Bremenium! Where can I find you now? How have we been led astray by the voluntary or compulsory visits of the Piets to Rochester, who, like ourselves, ignorantly must have mistaken BREM for Bremenium; for as to Antoninus, he can afford us no help. He wrote his history of himself in Greek, and would have written Hodos and not Iter for his first day's journey.
"Non tali axilio nec defensoribus istis."
Translated—Save us, O save us, from our stupid friend.
Archæological Societatis Amicus etsi non socius.
THE ROMAN ALTAR FOUND AT ROCHESTER.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL.
London, October 7th, 1852.
Sir,—My attention has been drawn to a further effusion of the Rev. Thomas Surridge, LL.D. of Thorneyburn, who would do well to bear in mind that it is not less becoming in a Doctor of Laws, than it is in a Doctor of Divinity, to keep his temper—which, by the way, those who persist in error seldom do. I must submit to the reproach, which, in the eyes of the reverend doctor, attaches to my southern domicile; I do not know where ​Thorneyburn is, but, wherever it may happen to be, it can scarcely be more conveniently placed, for reference to the first authorities on any subject, than is London. The judgment of one of those authorities on the inscription under discussion has been pronounced in these terms:—
Genio Domini nostri, et Signorum, Cohortis primæ Vardulorum, Et Numeni Exploratorum Bremenii, Cor. Egnatius Lucilianus, Legatus Augustalis Proprætor, curante Cassiô Sabiniano Tribuno, Aram posuit."
From what has passed, it will be obvious that I do not expect to find in Doctor Surridge the fruits of extensive reading and research; but, the learned doctor might surely have read the history of his own county. If he had done so, he would have found much to confirm the version of this inscription given to us by the Newcastle Antiquaries—he would have found the first cohort of the Varduli and the "Numerus Exploratorum" of Bremenium joined as in this inscription—he would have found the same Cohort dedicating at Bremenium an altar to their Standards and their Genius, and he might have escaped from the predicament of promulgating stark nonsense.
* Quam temere in nosmet legum saneimus iniquam! How rash to establish a severe law against ourselves—Editor.* My object in addressing you has not been, as Dr. Surridge suggests, to stifle inquiry, but to avert the catastrophe which usually attends the process of the blind leading the blind. The conviction is forced upon me that no one in his sober senses could possibly have propounded and persisted in so absurd and preposterous a reading ​of a plain inscription, as this of Dr. Surridge; and under that conviction, I must be permitted to take my leave of him, as of an individual not altogether accountable.
I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, A SOUTHERN MEMBER OF THE ARCHÆOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
THE ROMAN ALTAR FOUND AT ROCHESTER.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL
Sir,—As anonymous and unsupported assertion is not proof, and as reiterated error cannot bring with it either correctness or conviction, the Southern Member of the Archælogical Society may now be left to his flounderings. The veriest school-boy, with the key given in your paper of the 2nd, in hand, and the quarto edtion of Ainsworth's Dictionary beside him, may judge of the correctness of the translation there given, and instead of falsifying facts to accommodate historical errors, will correct errors by facts. This I conceive to be the legitimate and most profitable use to which Roman Remains can possibly be applied, and, in the present discoveries, we may find that it is of far more value than the pursuit of a phantom, or whether a Roman Camp be called Rochester or Bremenium. "A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet."
I am, Sir, your obedient servant, THOMAS SURRIDGE, Clerk, LL.D.
Rectory, Thorneyburn, Oct. 14, 1852.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL.
Sir,—A good deal of difference in opinion has arisen respecting the deciphering of the inscription on the Roman Altar lately found at Rochester, in this county. A Southern Member of the Archæological Institute adopts and defends the reading of the two northern antiquaries, and we think he is perfectly warranted in doing so; it must be obvious to every one conversant in those matters that their reading is the correct one. What is more probable than that the Varduli should be mentioned in an inscription on a Roman Altar at Rochester, the Bremenium of the Romans, since we learn* Quære what authority? from undoubted* authority that the first cohort of the Varduli, a people from the foot of the Pyrenees in Spain, were established at Bremenium? We may here notice that it was a policy pursued with great steadiness by the Roman Conquerors to transplant colonies from one nation to another, under the name of auxiliaries, thus making a gradual amalgamation of the different peoples who composed the empire, and establishing effective defences without exhausting the central force. Even with our present impefect information we can trace the parcelling out of Britain among colonies of almost every people who had been subdued by the Roman Arms. The Notitia Imperii, composed under Theodosius the younger, gives us a long list of the auxiliary nations who held towns and stations throughout Britain. In this list we find that Segedunum (Wallsend) was occupied by Lingones from Belgium; Pons Ælii (Newcastle) by a people called Cornovii; Habitancum* Dr. S. will hereafter prove that Risingham is more probably Bremenium. *(Risingham) and the next station to Bremenium, by the Vangiones, a people from the banks of the Rhine; and Bremenium (Rochester), as we noticed before, by the first cohort of the Varduli, a people from the foot of the Pyrenees in Spain. Now, in the third line of the inscription we meet with the letters, COHIVADVM, which by the two northern antiquaries is translated "of the first cohort of the Varduli," and when we find that this cohort was established at Bremenium, where shall we find a more reasonable rendering of the line? But Dr. Surridge would make the line stand thus—"Cohortis; Quartæ, Aram Diis Universis, Manibus," and in the fifth line he makes E M to stand for exemiæ ​memoriæ; again he makes the letters R R to represent Quæstor or Proquæstor; now is it not more natural to translate these letters proprætor, thus—PR. PR.; they are written in this manner on an altar found at Elsdon, in which parish Rochester is situated, and translated by Horsley—no mean authority—proprætor. The learned Doctor pretends to ridicule BREM standing for Bremenium, but for our part we think nothing is more likely than that the name of the city should be found as part of the inscription at whatever station the altar was erected. When every thing is considered, we confess that we can see no reasonable grounds for the Rev. Doctor's exposition, while the other seems plain and in keeping with the inscribed characters. The only difference we would feel inclined to make in the latter reading is, that for Numeri we would subscribe Numinibus. The translation would then stand thus, "Coregnatus Lucilianus the Imperial Legate Proprætor under the superintendence of Cassius Sabinianus the Tribune erected this altar to the genius of the Emperor, and of the Standards of the 1st Cohort of the Varduli and to the Divinities of the Explorators of Bremenium."
Dr. Surridge in a note says that, so far as he can learn, the Romans never erected altars to Genii of any kind. I shall only instance one or two cases of many to prove the contrary. On an altar found at Auchindary, in * Since the alluded to was written I have seen other altar inscriptions, and acknowledge that I was mistaken in my first impression; but Genio is written in full, as it is on the altar given by Mr. Bruce, Page 382 of his Roman Wall.*Scotland, is the following, "Genio terræ Britanniæ, &c." to the genius of the land of Britain. Another recently discovered at Chesters, "Genio Averni," to the genius of Avernus; which shows that even the presiding genius of the Infernal Regions had worshippers in Roman Britain. Another at Caerleon to the genius of the 2nd Legion; and another to the genius of the 1st Wing of Spaniards, "Genio Alæ Hispanorum," Thus, each Prætorium, or quarters, and each troop had its presiding genius. If the learned Dr. chooses to look into the "Celt" the Roman and the Saxon, by Wright, he will find others than those I have quoted.
I am, Mr. Editor, your obedient servant, D. G. SMITH.
Ford, near Coldstream, Oct. 14th, 1852.
THE ROMAN ALTAR AT ROCHESTER.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL.
Sir,—Mr. Smith, in his letter of the 14th, does not appear to be aware that the First Cohort of the Varduli is mentioned on two altars found many years ago at Rochester (Bremenium), both of which are given in Hodgson's valuable History of Northumberland, part 2, vol. 1, p. 140-141, and in the first of them occurs the abbreviation—P reversed and joined to R, as on that lately discovered at the same place, (not R R as given in Mr. Smith's letter), which, I believe, is correctly interpreted Proprætores.
I remain, Sir, yours faithfully,
W. C. TREVELYAN.
Wallington, October 14th, 1852.
Note.—(The abbreviations referred to by Sir Walter Trevelyan were correctly given by Mr. Smith, but there are no letters in modern use calculated to denote them. An R with a P reversed on the left side of it is the character used by the Romans on the altar.)
Note.—The abbreviations alluded to stand for either Quæstor or Prætor.—Editor.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL.
Sir,—I herewith inclose an inscription found on a monument exhumed at Rochester in the last week of September, which I traced with my own hand on Saturday last, and can, therefore, vouch for its correctness. The stone is much worn and obliterated, and requires the more care in obtaining a correct copy.
I will deposit the translation I shall make of it where it can be compared with the translation of others, as they appear, and that which is considered most correct adopted. Until then, it will be just as well to avoid discussion.
​Having availed myself of this my second visit to Rochester, personally to examine the altar inscription, I found that the first letter was decidedly a G and not a C, as I supposed it to be from the copy given me by my friend; but this does not in any way relieve my metropolitan friend out of his difficulties, for G in this case does not mean Genio but Gratiâ, preserving intact the explanation I have given, as it matters not whether it was by the grace of the Romans' Lord of themselves and Standards, or with Cæsar, as that Lord, the altar was erected.
But to put an end to further discussion I beg to observe that "the dedication of the altars to the manes of the deceased, in their burial grounds was general among the ancients, and most particularly observed by the Romans, whence their epitaphs were always superscribed D.M. Dis Manibus—to remind the sacrilegious and profane not to molest the monuments of the dead, which were guarded with such sanctity." Vid. Propert. 1 El. 19 Virg. 4 Geo. v. 460, Æneid, 3d. &c. Hor. 1 B. Sat. 8, v. 28.
The altar at Rochester, as I stated in my first letter, (vide Journal of 11th September,) was found in the burial ground of the Roman Camp, and its dedication to the manes sufficiently evident even, though not mentioned, as it is, in the body of the inscription, and the letter N, coupled by the conjunction et to DUM, shows that N to stand for numinibus exploratorum (falsely translated pioneers of Bremenium, his imaginary Roman Town), and not numeri as my southern friend insists.
Having thus, I think, satisfactorily proved the correctness of my translation to those who can reason on the subject, and that even though a resident of obscure and unknown Thorneyburn, without the advantage of such ample metropolitan references as my more fortunate critic boasts of, I can see, as far into an old Roman Stone and Inscription, without initiation into their mysteries, as the Southern Member of the Archæological Society.
I am, Sir, your obliged humble servant,
THOMAS SURRIDGE.
Thorneyburn Rectory, 25th October, 1852.
ROMAN ALTAR AT ROCHESTER.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL.
Thorneyburn Rectory, December 11th, 1852.
Dear Sir,—I herewith send the explanation of the inscription, which I forwarded you on the 25th of October last, and of which I then forwarded a copy, with the translation, to a friend, with the exception of the letter V instead of T in the first line, which letter I could not then account for, but have since discovered it to be an interpolation, having obtained, by a rubbing, the remains of the letter V, for which T was substituted, V being, historically, the correct reading.
I am, dear Sir, yours truly, THOMAS SURRIDGE.
Inscription on the Monument found at Rochester in the last week of September, copied from the stone, by Dr. Surridge, October 22nd, viz.:—
Inscription expanded.
Expansion.
Imperatore Cæsare Vero Ælio hoc dedicavit Antonino Augusto Pio P. P. (sapienti Viro bono) Quinctio Lollio Urbico Legato Augustali Proprætore, Cohors Ima. Lingonum—ergique fecit.
Translation.
During the reign of Verus Ælius Cæsar, the first cohort of the Lingones dedicated this to Antoninus Pius, P. P. (a wise and good man,) and caused it to be erected, Quinctus Lollius, Urbicus (or City Prefect,) being Augustan Lieutenant and Proprætor.
​Note.—Commodus was adopted by Adrian, a.d. 136, when his name was changed to Verus Ælius. He died on the 1st of January, 138. Antoninus was adopted in his stead, on the 25th of February, a.d. 138, and Adrian died on the 10th of July following, when Antoninus became sole Emperor. My retired residence, debarring me access to other ancient authorities, my research was of course limited to the only books which, in this retired situation, I could with facility obtain, and consisted merely of Tacitus and a borrowed first volume of Suetonius, in neither of which is there any account of the Antonines. I was, therefore, at a loss to account for the Agnomen Urbicus attached to the name of Quinctius Lollius, in the third line of the inscription published in the Newcastle Journal of the 18th of December last. Ainsworth does not give it, and Lemprier gives only one of the name, (Urbicus) an actor (in the reign of Domitian) who was probably so called from his city popularity. The Emperor Augustus, in order to relieve himself of some portion of the arduous duties which he at first exercised in his own person, by the advice of Macænas, his prime minister, appointed a City Officer, tantamount to our Lord Mayor of London, who was called Præfectus Urbicus, to distinguish him from other præfects; and a passage in Echard's Ecclesiastical History inclines me to believe that Quinctius Lollius may have held that office, and, during his prefecture, have been sent into Britain, as Augustan Lieutenant and Proprætor, in which case he would have retained his official name of Urbicus, as our Lord Mayor of London would do, during the continuance of his office, wherever he went.
HIGH ROCHESTER PROVED NOT TO BE BREMENIUM.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWCASTLE JOURNAL.
Thorneyburn Rectory, January 5th, 1853.
Dear Sir,—I have to apologize to Sir Walter Trevelyan and Mr. Smith for permitting their letters of October last to remain so long unacknowledged. I considered both to be good letters; but until now I had no opportunity of consulting the authorities on which they relied for their side of the argument—Mr. Bruce's Roman Wall supplies the deficiency, and I lose no time to avail myself of it in order to set those gentlemen right on the subject, and to convince them that the Roman Bremenium has not yet been discovered at High Rochester, nor do I apprehend it is likely to be found there.
High Rochester is not Bremenium.—Proved.
The author of the Roman Wall, in page 305, quotes from the itinerary, erroneously attributed to Antoninus Pius, stating—
​"The First Iter is entitled 'A Route from the Limit, that is, from the Roman Wall, to Prætorium, 156 miles.' It begins thus—
First Proof.
'From BREMINIVM to CORSTOPITVM, XX miles.'" (Roman of course,—Ed.)
High Rochester is now distant from Morpeth (Camden's Corstopitum) 27 English Miles, or nearly XXX miles (Roman), each English mile being equal to 1·09202 (Roman miles).
Now, either Bremenium is like the house of the lady of Loretto, possessed of the miraculous power of locomotion, or, Bremenium cannot have been discovered at High Rochester.—Q.E.D.
Again, "The Second Iter begins at the Roman Wall. * * * The first portion of it bears upon our present investigation."
"From BLATVM BVLGIVM to CASTRA EXPLORATORVM, XII miles," that is—From Bulness, (probably now called Bowness,) in Cumberland (Blatum Bulgium meaning in plain English a Babbling Bubbling Sea or Estuary,) the distance to High Rochester is upwards of fifty English miles, consequently, the Castra Exploratorum cannot be High Rochester, but may, with more probability be found at Carlisle or in its neighbourhood.
Now, let us proceed to the Rochester inscriptions brought forward in support of the Archæological Society's statement, and, should these too, as I think they will, prove adverse to their opinion, that opinion should no longer be opposed to truth for the purpose of maintaining the existence, or nonexistence, of an empty name. Roman inscriptions were evidently set up for some better purpose than this.** Vide Suetonus ad finem. Their own historians used them as the landmarks or lighthouses of historical truth, and may we not apply them still to the same purpose? Correctly translated, they may throw some light upon that part of our history in connexion with the Romans, which has been so long lost.
See Plate 1. Fig. 2.
Roman Wall, page 382. :
| Inscription. |||
| GENIO ET SIGNIS |||
| COH I FARDVL |||
| CR EQ. | X |
| TLICINIVS VALERI |||
| ANVS TRIE |||
Expanded by Dr. Surridge.
GENIO ET SIGNIS COH[ORTIS] PRIMÆ F[AVENTIBVS] AR[AM] D[IS] V[NIVERSIS] L[OCI] C[ONDIDIT] R[OMANVS] EQ[VES] MILLE [HOMINVM] T[ITVS] LICINIVS VALERIANVS TRIB[VNVS].
Translated.
Titus Licinius Valerianus, (a Roman Knight) Tribune of one thousand men, built this Altar to the Genius and all the Gods of the Place, who were favourable to the Standards of the First Cohort.
Expanded by Mr. Bruce.
GENIO ET SIGNIS COH[ORTIS] I F[IDÆ] [V*] ARDVL [ORVM] C[IVIVM] R[OMANORVM] †EQ[VITATÆ] T[ITVS] LICINIVS VALERIANVS TRIB[VNVS].
Translated by Mr. Bruce.
To the Genius and Standards of the First Cohort, the faithful of the Varduli Roman Citizens, Cavalry,† a thousand strong.‡ Titus Licinius Valerianus Tribune erected this.
* V is not in the original, and can legitimately have no place here. The Varduli, therefore are neither mentioned nor intended.
† In what language does Equitatæ stand for Cavalry? Certainly not in Latin—in which it is merely a participle.
‡ A Cohort's proportion of Cavalry was only about thirty men before they were augmented by auxiliaries, being the tenth part of three hundred, the number originally attached to a legion. How, then, could the horse of this Cohort be 1000? The first Cohort in later times had sometimes 120.
Each Cohort was commanded by a Tribune (or Colonel), to which office a knight became eligible after five years' services, and a plebeian after ten.
Remark.—There is much difficulty in the above inscription, the letters C. R. EQ. being capable of being variously expanded, but the interpretation which I have above given I consider the most correct. None gives the name of the Varduli or any bordering on it.—T.S.
The inscriptions inserted in the appendix of the Roman Wall, pages 457 and 460, have already appeared in the Newcastle Journal. The following is taken from a broken and designedly mutilated stone, of which Mr. Bruce gives a copy, with his explanation, page 458 appendix.
Broken Inscription taken by Dr. S.
​On the authority of Suetonius, whose words we here quote, we shall attempt to supply the deficient part of the inscription.
Suetonius' account of the death of Domitian, as given in his Cæsars, Chap. 23rd viz.:—
"Contra Senatus adeo laetatus est, ut, repleta certatim curia, non temperaret quin mortuum contumeliosissimo atque acerbissimo acclamationum genere laceraret; Scalas etiam inferri, clypeosque et imagines ejus corum detrahi et ibidem solo affligi juberet: novissume, eradendos ubique titulos, abolendamque omnem memoriam decernaret."
Hence Domitian's inscriptions were destroyed.
Above Inscription restored.
Translation of the restored Inscription.
In the Emperorship of Domitian Augustus Caesar Germanicus Sovereign Pontiff—the Prætor's Bailiff—an appointed veteran chosen at Rome—faithful to his orders rebuilt this Camp from the foundation under Appius Claudius Lolinius, the Imperial Lieutenant, at the urgent request of Aurelius Quintus the Tribune.
☞ In these Inscriptions neither Bremenium nor the Varduli are mentioned.
Note.—Having now satisfactorily proved that the discovery of Bremenium at High Rochester is not supported either by the Itinerary or the exhumed Inscriptions at the Roman Camp, I hope the members of the Archæological Society will, in future, be more guarded in publishing unfounded discoveries, and less ready to offer insult to individuals, however obscure their residence, or humble their condition, who try to explain inscriptions.
Extract from Butler's Commentary.
"A BREMENIO.
"Here, then, we begin at Bremenium, xiv. miles beyond the wall. The name of the station has met with much interpolation, whether through the transcriber's fault, or composers at the presse, or both, it much matters not. Aldus hath Remaenio, but that may be soon mended. Simler prints it Bramenio, which Ortelius seems to accept of, and our William Harrison followes him. Bremenio, as it appears, was constantly written in all those old books, and they not a few, which Surita used; otherwise he would have noted it. So, likewise, all Ptolemies' copies have it which I have seen (Bremenion) except that which otherwise is accounted the very best, published by Petrus Bertius out of the Palatin M.S. where you have Aremenion, Aremenium, doubtlessely by the printer's mistake. In him it is a City of the Otadenoi, Otadeni. And certainly the true name is Bremenium, which the inscription of an old altar makes** In this I must take leave to differ from the learned author. unquestionable, taken up at Rochester, (i.e. castrum in Rupe,) in Northumberland, standing upon the brow of a steep rising hill whence it is named,†† I should certainly say not-named from Castrum in Rupe, but from Romanis Castris. not far from the spring or head of the Rhead, where it was found buried among the rubbish of an ancient Castrum, or Camp."
I will here give Butler's inscription and translation, with my own translation afterwards, which widely differs from Butler's interpretation of the inscription.
Roman Inscription found at High Rochester, as published by Butler, a.d. 1658.
​"It meanes thus much:—The companies of scouts receiving double pay, or rather souldiers of the band or company receiving double pay, dedicated an altar at Bremenium to his Majesty," (you must conceive some Roman * Before an Emperor existed.—How absurd!Emperor,)* "when they made good their vow willingly as by him deserved, Caspio Charitimus (for so it must be read) was their Tribune or cheif commander.
"It is a piece of antiquity highly to be valued, almost near veneration, which, having still preserved the name and memory of the decayed station, may now be instead a tomb-stone to it, fallen into its own ashes, as well it was formerly erected to the Emperor's honour, and for his safety. And if Cicero could make such boast for finding out the grave of the mathematician Archimedes, humilis homunculi, as he saith, a very mean man, not full two hundred years after his burial, yet quite unknown to his countrymen the Syracusians, how much more deservedly might our Camden have taken upon him, who, afterthirteen hundred years at least, discovered the name and ruines of the most valiant and resolute garrison of Britain, the bulwarke sometimes and the defence of the natives as well as the provincialls, wherefore to illustrate a little in behalf of the youth of this island, studious of glorious things long before their own times, I should count no losse of time or pains."
Expanded by Dr. S.
And translated.
{{smaller block|The Romans being their Lords or Masters, the late Duplar (or double pay) Engineers having completed their Survey of Britain, determined to erect an Altar in this Camp to its presiding Deity, Caius Cæsar—Aratinus being Tribune, they most willingly pay their vow to him deserviug it, (i.e. to Cæsar.)
​See Fig. 1. Plate 3.
Figure of the Cistern or Well at High Rochester, 9 feet long by 7 feet 5 inches wide, and in depth, when it would be full of water, from four to five feet; near to this, the stone with the three naked figures was found. It was shut in by a flag on iron rollers on the lowest step. This flag was rolled into a groove in the side wall in order to give admission to the cistern or bath.
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Errata
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