dc.description.abstract | My paper begins with a briefsurvey ofthe history and the archaeological remains
of the Roman settlement at Remes/ana (east Moesia Superior, later Dada
Mediterranea). Remesiana was situated on the military road that connected Naissus
and Serdica and led further to Byzantium - Constantinople. As such itfigures in
the Itinerarium Antonini and the Tabula Peutingeriana. Remesianá became an
important bishopric in the early 5th century A.D., thanks to the activities of the
famous bishop Niceta (366-414 A.D.). Indeed, lhe site itself has unearthed notable
traces of Christian life. Surprisingly enough, a late pagan inscription (a [?]zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
funerary slab, h. 52cm, w. J 29 em, th. 3 cm) has been recently discovered at
Remesiana. 1t reads: Taurinianus ex tri /bunis et martialis sa(cerdos) / cum Iovinio
or -iano) n (bito) filio. Epigraphic features (the absence of gentilicia; the
abbreviation; n the expression ex tribunis; forms of A and L) indicate a late
dating, probably in the second half of the fourth century. 011 the other hand, the
inscription must have been erected by a pagan; Taurinianus ' til/e of Mars' sacerdos
(1.2 excludes, practically speaking, the altemative of qualifying MART1ALIS as
the cognomen of another dedicatory) is eloquent, and the omission ofthe cross at
the beginning of the text points in the same direction. With regard to Taurinianus '
military post, and the "martial" nature of his sacerdotium, this does not necessari/y
imply a period during which paganism was widely tolerated. However, it is tempting
to date the new monument to the reign of Julian, during which the publication of
the pagan inscriptions was permitted again, after Constantius Il s contrary
practice. | sr |