Slab of Quintus Claudius from Santiponce

The New Mithraeum

7 Nov 2023

TNMM 733 ↔ CIMRM 768

White marble slab (H. 0.265 Br. 0.334 D. 0.30), found in Italica. Mus. Arq. Sevilla, Inv. No. 75.

Between two engraved feet an inscription:

Q(uintus) C(laudius) C.... / D(eo) i(nvicto) S(oli).

s(acrum) is possible too.

Greyish-white marble slab, found in fragments in the amphitheater of Italica, a Roman city in the province of Baetica (modern-day Santiponce, near Seville, Spain). The slab is dated to the first half of the 2nd century AD and is currently housed in the Archaeological Museum of Seville.

It bears an inscription, which has been the subject of scholarly debate regarding to whom it is dedicated. Initially, as per Fernández Chicarro’s interpretation, the inscription was linked to the cult of Mithras due to its phrasing "Q(uintus) C(laudius) C(?), / D(eo) I(nvicto) S(oli) o D(eo) I(nvicto Mithrae) S(acrum)?" — suggesting a dedication to either the Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus) or Mithras, both of whom were associated with the sun and were part of mystery religions in the Roman Empire.

However, later interpretations, notably by Alicia Canto in 1984, suggested reading the inscription as "D(eae) I(nvictae) S(acrum)", thereby dedicating the slab to the goddess Nemesis, which was common in amphitheaters. This interpretation is supported by the presence of "plantae pedum" (the imprints of feet) which are often associated with Nemesis and other inscriptions found at the site that were dedicated to her. Scholars such as Beltrán Fortes are firm in this interpretation, aligning the slab with the Nemesis corpus from Italica, especially given its discovery location which aligns with other Nemesis dedications.