In Saint-Maurice, on the Rhône, some 14 kilometers to the north of Martigny, the remains have been found of Acaunum. Large parts of buildings have not been excavated here, but the settlement has produced some highly informative inscriptions. The place is also of interest because of the worship of the relics of the Christian martyr Mauritius in the Abbaye de Saint-Maurice. Here a few walls were excavated that have been assigned to the late fourth century.
View of Saint-Maurice. Photo: Wikimedia, Christian David.Two inscriptions from the first half of the first century mention the civitates IIII vallis Poeninae, the "four tribes of the Pennine valley", the valley of the Rhône (which gave the canton its name). These tribes were the Nantuates, Veragri, Seduni, and Uberi. During the reign of Claudius (41-54 AD) they were merged and formed the civitas Vallensium, the "tribe of those in the valley". Another inscription, from the late first century BC, mentions the Nantuates, who lived in the area of Massongex and Saint-Maurice.
[D]RVSO CAESARI
[Ti(beri)] AVGVSTI F(ilio) DIVI AUGVSTI
NEPOTI DIVI IVLII PRONEP(oti)
[a]VGVRI PONTIF(ici) QVAESTORI
[f]LAMINI AVGVSTALI CO(n)S(uli) II
[t]RIBVNICIA POTESTATE II
[civitate]S IIII VALLIS
POENINAETo Drusus Caesar,
son of Tiberius Augustus, of the deified Augustus
grandson, of the deified Iulius great-grandson,
augur, priest, quaestor,
priest of the Imperial cult, consul for the 2nd time,
with the tribunician power for the 2nd time,
the four tribes of the Pennine
valley.Limestone. W. 0.76, h. 0.87. 23 AD. Civitates was erased (in modern times?). Photo: EDCS-08400725.
[C(aio) Cae]SARI AVGVSTO
[Ge]RMANICI CAESAR(is) F(ilio)
[Ger]MANICO IMPER(atori)
[po]NTIFICI MAXVMO
[trib]VNICIA POTEST(ate) CO(n)S(uli)
[civita]TES IIII VALLIS POENIN(ae)To Caius Caesar Augustus,
son of Caesar Germanicus,
Germanicus, imperator,
pontifex maximus,
with the tribunician power, consul.
The four tribes of the Pennine valley.Limestone. W. 0.78, h. 0.61. 37 AD. Photo: EDCS-16900001.
[I]MP(eratori) CAESA[ri]
DIVI F(ilio) AVGVSTO
[c]O(n)S(uli) XI TRIBVN(icia) POTEST[ate ---]
[p]ONTIFI[ci] MAXI[mo]
NANTV[ate]S PATRON[o]To imperator Caesar,
son of (the) deified (Iulius), Augustus,
consul for the 11th time, with the tribunician power [for the ... time],
pontifex maximus,
the Nantuates, to their patron.Limestone. W. 0.55, h. 0.75. 12-6 BC. Photo: EDCS-08400723. The settlement was of more than average importance, because a customs office had been established there, a statio of the quadragesima Galliarum, the "Fortieth of the Gauls". It is documented in two inscriptions. One is the funerary inscription of a girl or woman who had been named Acaunensia after the village. The other records the restoration of a shrine.
ACAVNENSIAE FIL(iae)
AMARANTHVS
AVG(usti) N(ostri) VERN(a) VIL(icus)
XL GALLIARVM ET
CHELIDON
PARENTES POSVE
RVNTFor their daughter Acaunensia.
Amaranthus,
homeborn slave of our Augustus, overseer
of the Fortieth of the Gauls, and
Chelidon,
her parents, placed
this.Funerary altar of limestone. W. 0.53, h. 0.98, d. 0.48. Photo: EDCS-17100013.
[N]VM(inibus) AVGG(ustis)
MERCURIO SACR(um)
MONTANVS AVGG(ustorum)
NN(ostrorum) VERN(a) A(gens) V(ices) V(ilici) STAT(ionis)
ACAVN(ensis) XXXX GAL[l(iarum)]
AEDEM VETVSTAT[e]
[c]ONLABSAM RES
TITVITTo the divine powers of our Augusti.
Dedicated to Mercurius.
Montanus, of our Augusti
homeborn slave, deputy of the overseer of the office
in Acaunum of the Fortieth of the Gauls,
the shrine from old age
fallen in ruins
restored.Altar. W. 0.56, h. 0.63, d. 0.37. Photo: EDCS-15500015. Religion in the settlement is documented in several other inscriptions. Dedications have been preserved to the Nymphs and to the Celtic deity Sedatus.
NYMPHIS
SACRVMTo the Nymphs
dedicated.Altar of limestone. W. 0.47, h. 0.90, d. 0.30. Photo: EDCS-13900606.
DEO SEDATO
T(itus) VINELIVS
VEGETINVS
IIVIRAL(is)
D(e) S(uo) D(onum) D(edit)To the god Sedatus
Titus Vinelius
Vegetinus,
former mayor,
donated at own cost.Altar of limestone. W. 0.67, h. 0.96, d. 0.52. Photo: EDCS-16900002. Three funerary inscriptions tell the sad story of a married couple, a priest and a priestess (flamen and flaminica). Iulia Decumina had to bury both her husband and her son. She then ordered a gravestone for herself.
M(arco) PANSIO COR
NVTI FILIO SEVERO
IIVIR(o) FLAMINI
IVLIA DECVMINA
MARITOFor Marcus Pansius,
son of Cornutus, Severus,
mayor, priest.
Iulia Decumina
for her husband.Slab of limestone. W. 0.97, h. 0.99. Photo: EDCS-08400729.
D(ecimo) PANSIO M(arci) FI(lio)
SEVERO AN(norum) XXXVI
IVL(ia) DECVMINA MATER
FIL(io) PIENTISSIMOFor Decimus Pansius, son of Marcus,
Severus, 36 years old,
Iulia Decumina, his mother,
for her most pious son.Slab of limestone. W. 0.99, h. 1.00. Photo: EDCS-08400734.
V(iva) F(ecit)
IULIA DECVM(i) FIL(ia)
DECVMINA
FLAMINICADuring here lifetime made by
Iulia, daughter of Decumius,
Decumina,
priestess.Lost funerary inscription. EDCS-08400728. Drawing: Collart 1941, Pl. 25,31. Iunius Marinus, a high-ranking man, died in the area fighting Alemannic invaders, and was buried in Acaunum.
IVNI MARINI
V(iri) E(gregii) EX DVCENA
RIO HIC AB
HOSTIBVS PV
[gnans occisus est]Of Iunius Marinus,
outstanding man, of the rank of
200,000 sesterces income. Here by
enemies, fighting,
he was killed.Slab of limestone. W. 0.61, h. 0.38. Photo: EDCS-08400727.
Literature
Bourban 1916; Bourban 1917; Collart 1941; Blondel 1948; Sauter 1950, 126-134; Blondel 1966; Wiblé 1978; Drack-Fellmann 1988, 495-496; Drack-Fellmann 1991, 225-227; France 2001, 92-96.
[25-Jan-2024]
