Stamped Inscriptions Recently Discovered Nearby Villa Suburbana From Apulum (Roman Dacia)
Stamped Inscriptions Recently Discovered Nearby Villa Suburbana From Apulum (Roman Dacia)

Summary/Abstract: The passage describes the discovery and significance of a group of stamped Roman bricks, so the translation below keeps the academic tone while making the English clear and natural. The discovery, in the spring of 2025, of a batch of stamped Roman bricks in a secondary context dated to the Early Middle Ages (8th–9th centuries), drew attention because of the high quality of the stamp impressions. The find consists of a cremation grave with a cist built from reused Roman bricks, bearing stamps that contain the following five anthroponyms: Aurelius Enthimus, Aurelius Menander, Flavius Martinus, Lucretius Aquila, and Ulpius Fronto. One name stands out in particular: Lucretius Aquila, previously attested only on stamps where it appears together with the name of Legio XIII Gemina. On one of the bricks, this anthroponym appears alone, in the nominative, without the legion’s name, a feature that makes this discovery unique at Apulum and in Roman Dacia. Consequently, this brick stamped Lucretius Aquila (and the others as well) most likely originates from a villa suburbana located about one kilometer farther south, where today there is a livestock farm belonging to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia. The appearance of this stamp reopens the discussion about the possibility that civilian producers (probably even veterans) manufactured building materials for the Roman army—in this case, for Legio XIII Gemina. As in other provinces (Germania Superior, Pannonia, or Britannia), the army subcontracted the production of tegulae and other building materials to private producers in various circumstances, especially when detachments of troops were sent to other conflict zones and part of the military workshops had to be closed temporarily. This would represent a fourth civilian producer of ceramic building materials known to have manufactured such products for Legio XIII Gemina. All of them had their workshops in the civilian settlement (canabae) near the legionary fortress. The previously known producers are Publius Aelius Terentianus, Iulius Serenus, and P(ublius) Cl(odius) D(….), to whom Lucretius Aquila can now be added.

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