Rufus Sita Tombstone
| Rufus Sita Tombstone | |
|---|---|
 The Rufus Sita Tombstone | |
| Type | Tombstone |
| Created | 1st century AD |
| Discovered | 1824 London Road, Gloucester, UK |
| Present location | Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery |
| Identification | RIB 121; Gloucester Museum GLRCM: A2737 |
| Culture | Roman |
The Rufus Sita Tombstone is the marker of the grave of Rufus Sita, a Roman soldier from the mid 1st Century AD, found near London Road, Gloucester, in 1824.[1]
Description
The tombstone depicts a mounted horseman bearing a shield and spear, with a sheathed sword on this flank. He rides to the ride, striking at a defeated enemy prone on the ground beneath him. Above the relief is a Sphinx flanked by a pair of lions.[2] It measures 1.44 m in height and 0.81 m width.[2]
Inscription
The Latin inscription on the tombstone reads:
RVFVS · SITA · EQVES · CHO · VI
TRACVM · ANN · XL · STIP · XXII
HEREDES · EXS · TEST · F · CVRAVE
H. S. E. [2]
or:
Rufus Sita, eques Cohortis VI
Thracum, annorum XL, stipendiorum XXII.
Heredes ex testamento faciendum curaverunt.
Hic situs est.
Which translates as:
Rufus Sita, horseman of the Sixth Cohort of Thracians,
lived forty years and served twenty-two.
His heirs, in accordance to his will, had this erected.
He is laid here.
Reception
The tombstone has been in the Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery since 1873.
References
- ^ "ROMAN ANTIQUITIES". The Morning Post. No. 16638. 17 April 1824.
- ^ a b c "RIB 121. Funerary inscription for Rufus Sita". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
Further reading
- Anderson, Alastair Scott. Roman Military Tombstones. Aylesbury: Shire Publications, 1984. ISBN 0-85263-571-0