Original scientific paper
A contribution to research in Roman Siscia. The first written reference concerning Severilla’s sarcophagus in modern history and an attempt to reconstruct its original location
Vlatka Vukelić
orcid.org/0000-0001-7831-9343
; Croatian studies
Abstract
The first written description of Severilla’s sarcophagus and the inscription on it dates from 1551 and was published in Commentariorum reipublicae Romanae illius in exteris provinciis acquisitis Constitutae libri duodecim, byWolfgang Lazius. On the orders of the Emperor Ferdinand and his superior Primus Lachner from Celje, Lazius carred out research in, among other places, the Sisak area to discover Roman remains and transcribe anything referring to Christian antiquities. In his works he called the area in which he worked Zyzya. He had the opportunity to see Severilla’s sarcophagus and transcribed the inscription on it published in his work. At the time he was there the building of the Sisak fortress had just been completed (1544–1550) and is known to have been constructed of material from the ruins of Siscia so we may suppose that Severilla’s sarcohagus was also excavated at that time. In my opinion the sarcophagus was part of the inventory of the east Siscian necropolis, one part of which (that nearest the city walls) was early Christian as can be seen from typical material relics. This sarcophagus must have been seen in the same place by Luigi Fernando Marsigli, almost unknown among our researchers, details about which, incuding a drawing he published in his Danubius Pannonico Mysicus, observationibus geographicis, astronomicis, hydrographicis, historicis, physicis perlustratus et in sex tomos digestus, which is often quoted in reconstructions of the topography of ancient Siscia. Baltazar Adam Krčelić left the most detailed description of the place where he saw the sarcophagus standing in the countryside. His History of the Zagreb Cathedral has valuable information allowing us to reconstruct its original position which was supplemented in the twentieth century by Brunšmid. The most reliable transcription from Severilla’s sarcophagus known to date is that by Matija Petar Katančić in his Specimen philologiae et geographiae Pannoniorum. Since neither of these came from Sisak they somewhat indiscriminately used local toponyms to give a precise explanation of the position on the terrain, but detailed cartographic and cadastral research has made it possible to make a fuller reconstruction of its location. A careful reading of the source material combined with a study of maps and historical observation has made it possible to add something to descriptions where it seemed that everything had aready been said, and any apparent confusion in the works can be avoided by taking into account all elements affecting any research work. This requires long and arduous concentration and is often open to contradiction, but any dilemmas may well be solved by discussion.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
18697
URI
Publication date:
8.12.2006.
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