SPECIAL = Rare Roman Tombstone Found in England

The following article is from "The Blaze" website at the following web address =
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/02/25/tombstone-uncovered-in-england-thats-so-rare-its-being-called-career-defining/

Tombstone Uncovered in England That’s So Rare It’s Being Called ‘Career Defining’
Feb. 25, 2015 1:14pm Liz Klimas

An “incredibly rare” Roman tombstone found face down in England was flipped over on live TV this week to reveal its Latin inscription.

According to Cotswold Archaeology, the tombstone uncovered in Cirencester said “D.M. BODICACIA CONIUNX VIXIT ANNO S XXVII.” Translating the Latin to English, this reads “In memory of Bodicia. Wife. Lived 27 years,” the archaeological group reported.

A rare, Roman tombstone was found in Cestershire this week.
(Image source: http://www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/exciting-news-incredibly-rare-roman-tombstone-found-in-cirencester/ )

Neil Holbrook, Cotswold Archaeology’s chief executive, told BBC he was “elated” at the discovery of the tombstone and the success the crew had flipping it over in one piece. Roman tombstones as a whole in the area are rare finds. This particular stone would have cost “quite a lot of money,” Holbrook said, according to BBC.

“It’s a thing of beauty, a real career-defining [moment],” another archaeologist who was at the site told the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.  Holbrook noted that the woman’s name was Celtic, so he speculated that she might have been from Gloucestershire but married to a Roman or Gaul from France.  The Gloucestershire Echo reported that the tombstone will undergo analysis before it is put on display in a museum.

The discovery was made at an existing dig site at the former automotive garage located just outside of Cirencester, a city Cotswold Archaeology said was called Corinium Dobunnorum when it was founded by the Romans in the first century. Dozens of Roman graves have been found in the area.