Sculpture, tombstone

A Limestone sculptured effigy of a legionary soldier. This tombstone is the earliest known depiction of a Londoner and was found in Camomile Street in the City.

The Roman soldier commemorated wears a cloak and tunic and carries a short sword. A scarf is draped around his neck and a studded strap around his waist is finished with a lunate pendant. In the left hand he holds a scroll and six writing tablets indicating that in life he had clerical duties. There is evidence that many of the soldiers worked for the military administration of London during the Roman period. This soldier may well have been a non-commissioned officer seconded from his legion to serve on the headquarters’ staff of the governor, a ‘beneficiarius consularis’. All Roman army staff at this time would have come from outside Britain.

This tombstone resembles Roman military tombstones found in the Rhineland, Germany.