r/history

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A pair of artifacts of late Roman Britain which I find puzzling are the "Ring of Silvianus" and the 'curse tablet' invoking Nodens which seems to be related to it but was found at a completely unrelated excavation at a distant site. Here is my (perhaps incorrect) understanding of them and how they were found:

1. In 1786 a farmer in Silchester in southern England found a gold ring in a plowed field. It is believed to be from sometime in the 300s and bears the inscription "SENICIANE VIVAS IIN DE". In Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 500, Charles Thomas states that this inscription was made incorrectly and it should be SENICIANE VIVAS IN DEO".

2. In 1817, almost 100 miles away in western England, someone found a lead tablet in a temple complex dedicated to the god Nodens. There were other tablets found there praying to Nodens for healing, but this particular tablet instead invokes Nodens for a curse upon someone named Senicianus. The Latin inscription is apparently "DEVO NODENTI SILVIANVS ANILVM PERDEDIT DEMEDIAM PARTEM DONAVIT NODENTI INTER QVIBVS NOMEN SENICIANI NOLLIS PETMITTAS SANITATEM DONEC PERFERA VSQVE TEMPLVM DENTIS". A museum there translates that as "For the god Nodens. Silvianus has lost a ring and has donated one-half [its worth] to Nodens. Among those named Senicianus permit no good-health until it is returned to the temple of Nodens."

As I recall from Latin class 15 years ago, the name Senicianus uses the second declension. Which means Seniciane is the vocative (which is what you use to speak to Senicianus directly). So 'SENICIANE VIVAS IN DEO' would mean "Senicianus, live in God!" So the name from the ring matches the name of the person from the tablet who is supposed to return the ring.

Articles and museum descriptions seem to assume that this ring is the ring which the curse tablet mentions.

That seems like a startlingly lucky find to me. What are the odds that the specific lost/stolen ring which a single tablet mentions would not only survive but be found? It isn't even as if the sites were related or the same team discovered them. They were discovered 30 years apart and almost 100 miles apart. For that matter, they seem religiously very different. The ring's inscription seems to be Christian, whereas the curse tablet seems to be from a fusion of the Celtic worship of Nodens with later Roman additions.

Is there another explanation beyond amazing luck? For example, was Senicianus an extremely common name, with this not necessarily being the ring of the same Senicianus from the curse tablet? Or is there some other way in which they might not actually be connected?

Sources:

1. Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 500, by Charles Thomas:

2. A site about the Lydney Temple to Nodens and the tablet inscription:

3. Temples in Roman Britain by M.J.T. Lewis

Hi everybody,

Welcome to our weekly book recommendation thread!

We have found that a lot of people come to this sub to ask for books about history or sources on certain topics. Others make posts about a book they themselves have read and want to share their thoughts about it with the rest of the sub.

We thought it would be a good idea to try and bundle these posts together a bit. One big weekly post where everybody can ask for books or (re)sources on any historic subject or timeperiod, or to share books they recently discovered or read. Giving opinions or asking about their factuality is encouraged!

Of course it’s not limited to *just* books; podcasts, videos, etc. are also welcome. As a reminder, also has a recommended list of things to read, listen to or watch