13. The Tombstone of Vitalis

40.Vitalinis.jpg

Memorial Tablet UQ 78.004

Marble 

Italy, AD 50-150

RD Milns Antiquities Museum Collection 

(13) ‘To the Departed Spirits. To Vitalis, their daughter, who lived for 8 years, 11 months and 3 days. Her most dutiful parents set up this [memorial].’

D(is) M(anibus) | Vitalini | Filiae Suae | Q(uae) V(ixit) A(nnos) VIII M(enses) XI D(ies) III| Fecerunt | Parentes Pientissimi

This marble memorial may have come from a tomb or perhaps an above-ground columbarium in Italy. The figure of Vitalis is set into a niche with a curved top, carved into the memorial itself, and she stands above the Latin dedication in the guise of the goddess Diana. She is dressed in a chiton tied around the waist in Greek fashion, with a chlamys or short cloak. A quiver is strung across her left shoulder and she faces to her left in a pose that suggests she is about to draw an arrow. Her hound emerges from behind her, bounding towards the animal both have just spotted in the distance. The lettering on the inscription is well-spaced and clearly defined, and the carving is of mediocre standard.

Vitalis died before reaching her ninth birthday, and her depiction in the guise of the goddess Diana is proleptic, giving her features that make her appear older than her age at death. This perhaps reflects the unfulfilled hope of her parents who would never see their child grow to adulthood. Her parents are not named on the inscription, so we are unsure of whether Vitalis was a slave or freeborn child. However, this type of commemoration was often used by parents who had gained their freedom and who could afford to pay for an individualised memorial.