Signaculum of Caius Valerius Avitus

TNMM 110

Bronze circular signaculum discovered at the Roman villa of Els Munts near Tarraco. Measuring 6.7 cm in diameter, the seal bears a retrograde inscription reading C(ai) Valeri Aviti / Augus / tobri / ga, identifying its owner as Caius Valerius Avitus of Augustobriga. The object is one of the rare Roman personal seals to include both the owner’s name and place of origin.

Avitus was a wealthy landowner from Augustobriga who, according to an inscription from Tarraco, was transferred to the colony by order of Emperor Antoninus Pius and later served as duovir. The seal provides direct evidence of his presence at Els Munts, where another inscription identifies Avitus and his wife Faustina as the owners of the estate. The estate contained a Mithraeum, placing Avitus among the principal figures associated with the site’s Mithraic community.

The signaculum is preserved in the Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona (Inv. 45427).