Earliest known Roman Military Diploma from Britain

During a metal detecting and fieldwalking (2003 – 2004) survey of a newly discovered Roman site two fragments of a Roman military diploma were found. This is the earliest known from Britain and dates to AD 98. Both fragments have been donated by the landowner to the Norwich Castle Museum where they are on permanent display. At the time of finding these were reported in  - The Times and British Archaeology magazine.  Recently they have been published in Britannia.

Both fragments were found by Michael de Bootman. Although, they were found over two years and 120 metres apart, they join together perfectly.

Extract from the Probable Antiquities Scheme – East of England Newsletter, November 2004.

In 2002 during a fieldwalking and metal detector survey of a site in mid Norfolk, a fragment of a so-called Roman military diploma was recovered. These items were awarded to Roman auxiliary soldiers after twenty-five years service and recorded the grant of Roman citizenship that auxiliaries received in return for their military service. This fragment dated to AD 98 and appeared in the Portable Antiquities East of England newsletter of winter 2003.

Earlier this year a second fragment of the same diploma was discovered at the site. Conveniently, this portion of the diploma joins to the piece found earlier and adds to the information already obtained in the 2002 find. The first side adds to the titulature of the emperor Trajan, including the naming of his offices of Pontifex and Consul; this portion of the text continues with the beginning of the list of units involved in the particular grant of citizenship to which this diploma belongs.

The second side expands and extends the standard formula inscribed on diplomata and continues to give the beginning of Trajan’s titles as Consul for 98 and the praenomen, Sex[tus], of Setus Julius Frontinus, the other Consul for that year. Following this is the beginning of the name of the recipient’s unit Ala 1 Pan [noniorum]. The first cavalry wing of Pannonians. This is important new evidence for the location of this unit at this time. Finally the remains of two other letters, an ‘A’ and possible an ‘N’, offer the first two letters of this unit’s commanders.

This second diploma fragment offers important additional information, clarifying the unknown Pannonian unit attested in the first fragment as Ala I Pannoniorum Tampiana and offering a tantalizing glimpse of the commander’s name in AD 98, a name otherwise most probably unknown to history. We can only hope that further pieces of this interesting object will be recovered in the future and perhaps give us the name of the unknown member of Ala 1 Pannoniorum to whom this diploma was awarded.

Research News

We are now in process of planning our summer excavations in the Nar Valley, we will keep you informed as this progresses.  Part of this years research will conclude the excavation of the Roman river crossing that was started in 2004. Click here for further information on this site