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Mogontiacum (Mainz) |
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Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius. | |
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This is the "Drususstein", the Drusus memorial. You will find it in Mainz' interesting seventeenth-century citadel. Actually there is some doubt whether it really is the cenotaph of the Roman general, who died in 9 BCE after he had founded Mainz and conquered the valleys of the rivers Lippe and Main. The identification is as early as the Middle Ages and may therefore be based on accurate memories, but archaeologists have identified tombs from a later age in the neighborhood. This can mean that the large stone tower is younger than is generally accepted, but can also mean that people wanted to be buried near Drusus. |
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The theater, with the southern station in the background, seen from the Lutheran Church. It is less than five minutes walking from the Museum für antike Schifffahrt, and equally distant to the Drusustein. It looks not very big, but that's because the 42 m wide stage is below the railroad. In fact, it's the largesttheater north of the Alps. | |
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This gives a better impression. The semicircle had a width of 116 meters and about 10,000 people could watch the spectacle. The theater is one of Mainz' oldest buildings, but nothing is known about the first building phase. During the reign of Domitian, it was renovated, and that is what we see today. Probably, the theater was not only used for plays, but also for political meetings. | |
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A replica of an ancient milestone in modern Mainz.
The next photos are from monuments and inscriptions from the Landesmuseum. |
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PARTHVS ANAZ- ARBAEVS EQVES ALA PARTHORVM ET ARABORVM ECO- CATVS TRIPLICARIVS STIPendiorum X DONIS DON- ATYVS BELESIPPVS FRATER POSVIT |
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This is the tombstone of a mounted archer named Maris, son of Casitus. He was also a member of the Squadron of Parthians and Arabs, in which his brothers Masicates and Tigranus appear to have fought as well. | |
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The tombstone of a couple; their names are lost. The woman, standing, wears a native dress and jewelry; the man also has a typical native dress, a cucullus, with a hood. | |
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Finally, the tombstone of a girl. In Mainz, as everywhere in the ancient world, about two third of the people were dead before they had reached the age of ten. On these pages, you have seen the tombs of thirteen men and one woman. To make the balance more accurate, we would have needed the tombs of about twelve women, twenty-seven children, and twenty-eight babies. |
Livius.Org, 2006 Revision: 4 September 2006 |
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