Roselle tardoantica e l’ultima attestazione dell’ordo Rusellanorum

An outline of the evolution of late antique Rusellae is presented based on two inscriptions. The first one (unpublished) is a statue base to Constantius Chlorus (305 AD), a dedication on behalf of the ordo Rusellanorum. It was found in the late republican Basilica on the north side of the Forum, which seems to be a place particularly favoured for honorary dedications. In the late fourth or fifth century the functions of the building were reduced and the base was used to narrow the door of the tribunal. The second monument is the dedication of the baths of Arzygius (AE 1998, 453), a reused marble slab. An analysis of the text shows a series of echoes from the literary and epigraphic production of the time. The senator Arzygius, who may have been a pagan, owned an estate near Rome and had broad interests. In conclusion, while in the early fourth century the civic life of Rusellae showed signs of vitality, in subsequent years decline set in and the town underwent a process of decentralisation, only maintaining its role of administrative and religious centre for a population scattered over the villas and villages of the surrounding area.