page_title: Castelldefels Castle
section_title: Roman monument
hierarchical_section_title: Castelldefels Castle / Roman monument
caption_attribution_description: English: Roman remains in the church of Castelldefels Castle. Limestone block, probably a statue base, 2nd century AD, inscribed with: C. TROCINAE C. LIB. SYNECDEMO IIIIII VIR. AUG. VALERIA.HALINE MARITO.OPTIMOEspañol: Restos romanos dentro de la iglesia del castillo de Castelldefels. Bloque de piedra caliza, probablemente la base de una estatua, siglo II d.C., con inscripción: C. TROCINAE C. LIB. SYNECDEMO IIIIII VIR. AUG. VALERIA.HALINE MARITO.OPTIMO
context_page_description: Castelldefels Castle is a frontier fortress in the town of Castelldefels, near Barcelona in Spain, that was built to defend the frontier of the Carolingian Empire against neighbouring Muslim territories, particularly the Caliphate of Córdoba. The fortress was first recorded in the 10th century, as was the former parish church of St. Mary, contained within its outer wall.
  The castle occupies a hilltop to the northeast of the modern town centre and the castle complex includes the castle keep, a church, associated outbuildings, and a cemetery, all contained within a curtain wall. The hill was first occupied in ancient times and archaeologists have excavated remains of a Laietani settlement dating from the 3rd to the 1st century BC, and a Roman villa dating from the 1st to the 6th century AD. The castle was first recorded in AD 967, and by the 14th century a fortified house existed with a strong curtain wall. The church was also fortified in the 14th century. The castle as it stands today was largely built in the 16th century as a response to the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.
context_section_description: During the 1989 restoration project, workers uncovered a Latin inscription upon a limestone block embedded in the rectory wall. The block measured 93 by 60 by 52 centimetres (37 by 24 by 20 in), with the area of the inscription measuring 78 by 48.5 centimetres (30.7 by 19.1 in). The block possibly served as the base of a statue, and was inscribed with:
  C. TROCINAE
  C. LIB.
  SYNECDEMO
  IIIIII VIR.
  AUG.
  VALERIA.HALINE
  MARITO.OPTIMO
  This was interpreted as "To Caius Trocina Synecdemus, freedman of Caius, sevir augustalis, (dedicated by his wife) Valeria Haline for having been an excellent husband". The monument has been dated to the 2nd century AD. The inscription identified the block as one that had been examined and recorded in the same rectory by an 18th-century antiquarian. The excavator believes that the memorial stone was found very close to its original location, and that the Roman villa belonged to Trocina Synecdemus.
caption: Limestone block with 2nd century Roman inscription
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