Tomb 94Isola Sacra Menu

Tomb 94 has a burial chamber and an enclosure. The enclosure dates from a later period than the burial chamber and was also built later than the neighbouring tombs 93 and 95, from which it uses part of the walls.
The inscription above the entrance of the burial chamber is lost. We still see, however, a triangular tympanum flanked by two small windows. The burial chamber itself uses also the side walls of tombs 93 and 95. The walls of the burial chamber have a central aedicula with a tympanum, surrounded by small niches. Each wall has two arcosolia In the lower part. The tomb was therefore used for a mixed form of burying. Below the small niches are blank, marble name plates. The tomb was used only partly.

 

Although only a small part of the decorations of the burial chamber survived, we can see that they were of great importance. Guido Calza described how, during the excavations, the composition of the aediculae, the niches and the columns of the right wall made him think of Pompeii. Tomb 94 dates from 140-145 AD.

The enclosure has been built probably about 150 AD and was used exclusively for interring urns. Above the entrance of the enclosure we find an inscription on a marble slab of 35 x 78 cms, once flanked by two reliefs. Unfortunately, the reliefs are lost.

  

 

DIS MANIBVS
TROPHIMVS CAES(aris) N(ostri) SER(vus) ET CLAVDIA
TYCHE SIBI ET CLAVDIAE SATVRNINAE
FILIAE PIENTISSIMAE QVAE VIXIT ANN(is)
XV MENSIBVS VI DIEB(us) XIII ET LIBERTIS
LIBERTABVS POSTERISQVE EORVM
COMPARATO LOCO A VALERIA
TROPHIME P(ro) P(arte) IIII HVIVS MONVMENT(i)

 

The inscription tells us that the monument was erected by Trophimus, slave of our Emperor, and by Claudia Tyche for themselves and for their most pious daughter Claudia Saturnina, who lived fifteen years, six months and thirteen days, for their freed slaves, and the descendants.
A fourth part of the monument (probably only of the enclosure) was bought from Valeria Trophime.

The enclosure consists of four columbaria and a corridor between the burial chamber and the street. An inscription on the right side of the enclosure describes the subdivision made by the descendants of the builders of the original tomb.
On a marble slab of 30 x 35 cms we can read the following text:

D(is) M(anibus)
C(aius) GALGESTIVS HELIVS LOCO PVRO
EMPTO A VALERIA TROPHIME
FECIT SIBI ET SVIS AEDICVLAM
IVNCTAM PARIETI INTRAN
TIBVS PARTE DEXTRA IN QVA
SVNT OLLAE N(umero) XIIII PRAETER
EAM OLLAM QVAM DONAVIT
TROPHIME GALGESTIO VITALI
EX QVIB(us) OL(lis) I POMPON(iae) CHRYSOPOLI D(ono)
D(ed)I(t)

After he has bought an empty place from Valeria Trophime, Caius Galgestius Helius has added an aedicula for himself and his family to the wall on your right hand when you enter, in which you will find fourteen urns, with exception of one urn given by Trophime to Galgestius Vitalis. Another of these urns has been donated to Pomponius Chrysopolis.

A third inscription, probably coming from the second room on the right side (now in the Ostian depot), gives us the following information on a marble slab of 24 x 40 cms:

D(is) M(anibus) EVHODVS CAES(aris) N(ostri) SER(vus)
ET VENNONIA APPHIS LOCO
EMPTO A VALERIA TROPHIME
FECERVNT SIBI ET LIBERTIS
LIBERTABVSQVE EIVS POSTERIS
QVE EORVM

After they bought the rights from Valeria Trophime, Euhodus, slave of our Emperor, and Vennonia Apphis have made this for themselves and for their freed slaves and for the descendants.

 

• Sources
• Russel Meigs - Roman Ostia, At the Clarendon Press 1973
• Guido Calza - Necropoli nell'Isola Sacra'(1940)
• Dr. Jan Theo Bakker.
• Hilding Thylander - Inscriptions du port d'Ostie (Lund C W K Gleerup 1952).
• Ida Baldassarre, Irene Bragantini, Chiara Morselli and Franc Taglietti - Necropoli di Porto, Isola Sacra (Roma 1996).