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88-426: The only inscription that convincingly mentions the tribe is dated 100–225 AD and gives the form Texand(ri) . It was found on an altar at Brocolitia (Carrowburgh Fort) near Hadrian's Wall . A more uncertain inscription from Romania dated 102/103 AD reads Texu<...> . They are also mentioned as Texuandri by Pliny (1st c. AD), which may suggest that the two forms Texuandri and Texandri co-existed already in

176-444: A "familiarity with the provincia ", which, however, might otherwise be explained. For example, he says In the cultivation of the soil, the manners and civilization of the inhabitants, and the extent of its wealth, it is surpassed by none of the provinces, and, in short, might be more truthfully described as a part of Italy than as a province. denoting a general popular familiarity with the region. Pliny certainly spent some time in

264-527: A bath. In winter, he furnished the copier with gloves and long sleeves so his writing hand would not stiffen with cold (Pliny the Younger in avunculus meus ). His extract collection finally reached about 160 volumes, which Larcius Licinius, the Praetorian legate of Hispania Tarraconensis, unsuccessfully offered to purchase for 400,000 sesterces. That would have been in 73/74 (see above). Pliny bequeathed

352-555: A brother ( Domitian ) and joint offices with a father, calling that father "great", points certainly to Titus. Pliny also says that Titus had been consul six times. The first six consulships of Titus were in 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, and 77, all conjointly with Vespasian, and the seventh was in 79. This brings the date of the Dedication probably to 77. In that year, Vespasian was 68. He had been ruling conjointly with Titus for some years. The title imperator does not indicate that Titus

440-674: A campaign against the Germans (a practice which would not have endeared him to the disciplined Pliny). According to his nephew, during this period, he wrote his first book (perhaps in winter quarters when more spare time was available), a work on the use of missiles on horseback, De Jaculatione Equestri ("On the Use of the Dart by Cavalry"). It has not survived, but in Natural History , he seems to reveal at least part of its content, using

528-453: A continuous succession. Consequently, Plinian scholars present two to four procuratorships, the four comprising (i) Gallia Narbonensis in 70, (ii) Africa in 70–72, (iii) Hispania Tarraconensis in 72–74, and (iv) Gallia Belgica in 74–76. According to Syme, Pliny may have been "successor to Valerius Paulinus", procurator of Gallia Narbonensis (southeastern France), early in AD 70. He seems to have

616-743: A growing network of local alliances. In the 1st century AD, Pliny the Elder reported that the Texandri consisted of several smaller tribes with various names, which could mean that they were born out of several smaller ethnic groups that merged into a larger group or joined together. From the military records found across the Roman Empire, it appears that the Texandri may have formed at least one administrative district or pagus which contributed troops to Roman armies, but it appears to be associated with more than one higher level district or civitas . One

704-512: A mile west of the nearest milecastle , Milecastle 30 . Only the fort's earthworks are now visible, the Wall at this point and the fort's north ramparts having been demolished for the construction of General Wade 's early 18th-century military road (now the B6318 ). The late 19th-century archaeologist John Clayton carried out a partial excavation of the site, revealing a military bath-house outside

792-591: A personal favor. No earlier instances of the Plinii are known. In 59 BC, only about 82 years before Pliny's birth, Julius Caesar founded Novum Comum (reverting to Comum) as a colonia to secure the region against the Alpine tribes , whom he had been unable to defeat. He imported a population of 4,500 from other provinces to be placed in Comasco and 500 aristocratic Greeks to found Novum Comum itself. The community

880-464: A promotion to military tribune , which was a staff position, with duties assigned by the district commander. Pomponius was a half-brother of Corbulo. They had the same mother, Vistilia , a powerful matron of the Roman upper classes, who had seven children by six husbands, some of whom had imperial connections, including a future empress. Pliny's assignments are not clear, but he must have participated in

968-533: A severe winter killed the first crops planted by the Treviri; they sowed again in March and had "a most abundant harvest." The problem is to identify "this", the year in which the passage was written. Using 77 as the date of composition Syme arrives at AD 74–75 as the date of the procuratorship, when Pliny is presumed to have witnessed these events. The argument is based entirely on presumptions; nevertheless, this date

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1056-474: A testament to his father [Ce]ler and his mother [Grania] Marcella The actual words are fragmentary. The reading of the inscription depends on the reconstruction, but in all cases the names come through. Whether he was an augur and whether she was named Grania Marcella are less certain. Jean Hardouin presents a statement from an unknown source that he claims was ancient, that Pliny was from Verona and that his parents were Celer and Marcella. Hardouin also cites

1144-531: A traditional building, rather it was a paved and an open air shrine. The altar, dedicated by M. Hispanius Modestinus c. AD 213, was inscribed identically on two sides, and stood on a pedestal indicating it was out in the open, and meant to be walked around. It is likely that this shrine was built during a period of disuse of the Mithraeum as it was located so close to the Mithraic Temple. The building of

1232-529: A venerable tradition outside Italy). In his next work, Bella Germaniae , Pliny completed the history which Aufidius Bassus left unfinished. Pliny's continuation of Bassus's History was one of the authorities followed by Suetonius and Plutarch . Tacitus also cites Pliny as a source. He is mentioned concerning the loyalty of Burrus , commander of the Praetorian Guard , whom Nero removed for disloyalty. Tacitus portrays parts of Pliny's view of

1320-461: A very ready sleeper, sometimes dropping off in the middle of his studies and then waking up again." A definitive study of the procuratorships of Pliny was compiled by the classical scholar Friedrich Münzer , which was reasserted by Ronald Syme and became a standard reference point. Münzer hypothesized four procuratorships, of which two are certainly attested and two are probable but not certain. However, two does not satisfy Suetonius' description of

1408-575: A wing", responsible for a cavalry battalion of about 480 men. He spent the rest of his military service there. A decorative phalera , or piece of harness, with his name on it has been found at Castra Vetera , modern Xanten, then a large Roman army and naval base on the lower Rhine. Pliny's last commander there, apparently neither a man of letters nor a close friend of his, was Pompeius Paullinus , governor of Germania Inferior AD 55–58. Pliny relates that he personally knew Paulinus to have carried around 12,000 pounds of silver service on which to dine in

1496-585: A writer (whose works did not survive) in Germania Inferior . In AD 47, he took part in the Roman conquest of the Chauci and the construction of the canal between the rivers Maas and Rhine . His description of the Roman ships anchored in the stream overnight having to ward off floating trees has the stamp of an eyewitness account. At some uncertain date, Pliny was transferred to the command of Germania Superior under Publius Pomponius Secundus with

1584-481: Is also recorded as present at Ardotalia . ) Whether this altar was the repayment of the vow is unknown. The vicus (civilian settlement) was just outside the west side of the fort and covered about 4 hectares. The remains of three Roman sanctuaries have been discovered in the low-lying marshy ground beyond the fort's south-west corner. All three sites lie adjacent to a small tributary stream of Meggie's Dene Burn, which runs three miles from Carrawburgh to empty into

1672-574: Is evidenced by part of the Vallum being levelled before building the fort showing that it was an afterthought. A date of 130 has been suggested from a fragmentary inscription now in the Chesters Museum. The fort either used the Wall (narrow gauge on a broad base at this point) itself as its northern rampart, or was built parallel to it but detached. The fort was about a mile west of the Wall's northernmost point at Limestone Corner , and just over

1760-550: Is further north. Like most other mithraea, the Brocolitia temple was built to resemble a cave, and also had the usual anteroom, and a nave with raised benches ( podia ) along the sides. At Brocolitia, the anteroom and nave were separated by a wattle-work screen, the base of which was found exceptionally well preserved. Excavations revealed three stages of development: the first stage was small, around 5.5 metres (18 ft) wide and 8 metres (26 ft) long. The building

1848-603: Is required to achieve Suetonius' continuity of procuratorships, if the one in Gallia Belgica occurred. Pliny was allowed home (Rome) at some time in AD 75–76. He was presumably at home for the first official release of Natural History in 77. Whether he was in Rome for the dedication of Vespasian's Temple of Peace in the Forum in 75, which was in essence a museum for display of art works plundered by Nero and formerly adorning

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1936-630: Is the Civitas Tungrorum , the civitas of the Tungri , but there also seems to be an association with the civitas of the Nervii , to the west of the Tungri. The modern town of Tongerloo , named after the Tungri, is very close to Tessenderlo, but actually further from the capital city of the Tungri, modern Tongeren . The relationship between the Tungri and Texandri is unclear. Prior to Pliny,

2024-455: Is trained from his very cradle and perfected." It was followed by eight books entitled Dubii sermonis ( Of Doubtful Phraseology ). These are both now lost works . His nephew relates: "He wrote this under Nero, in the last years of his reign, when every kind of literary pursuit which was in the least independent or elevated had been rendered dangerous by servitude." In 68, Nero no longer had any friends and supporters. He committed suicide, and

2112-654: The (cisrhenane) Germani , a grouping which had included the Eburones. Before the Roman takeover of this region, in Julius Caesar 's commentary , the tribal boundaries in the area where the Texandri are later found are left unclear. He described it as thorny low forest and marshy lowlands, northwards of the main populations of the cisrhenane Germani and Nervii . Caesar mentions both these politically important tribes retreating into such northern estuarine areas when threatened, but more clearly connects those regions to

2200-726: The Pisonian conspiracy to kill Nero and make Piso emperor as "absurd" and mentions that he could not decide whether Pliny's account or that of Messalla was more accurate concerning some of the details of the Year of the Four Emperors . Evidently Pliny's extension of Bassus extended at least from the reign of Nero to that of Vespasian. Pliny seems to have known it was going to be controversial, as he deliberately reserved it for publication after his death: It has been long completed and its accuracy confirmed; but I have determined to commit

2288-617: The River South Tyne near Newbrough 's fort on the Stanegate . Nearest to the fort, about 80 metres (260 ft) from its south-west corner, are the remains of an early 3rd century mithraeum , i.e. a temple of the mystery cult of the Roman god Mithras . Discovered in 1949 and excavated by I.A. Richmond and J.P. Gillam in 1950, it is the second-most northernly mithraeum discovered so far – only Bremenium ( High Rochester ), more than 10 miles (16 km) from Brocolitia,

2376-683: The Ubii to the east near Cologne , the Cugerni to the northeast near Xanten , and the Batavians and Canenefates directly to the north of the Texandri, in the Rhine-Meuse delta . Tacitus , however, does not mention the Texandri, but specifically mentions that the Tungri, unlike the Ubii, Batavians and Canenefates who he also discusses, had simply changed tribal name, having previously been known as

2464-679: The podia benches were raised. A reconstruction of the sanctuary is on display at the Great North Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne . Directly in front of the entrance to the mithraeum the remains of an apse, well, and altar were found and named as the Shrine to the Nymphs and Genius Loci, sometimes referred to as a " nymphaeum ". Found in 1957 and excavated in 1960, this was the least used temple at Carrawburgh. The Shrine may not have had

2552-512: The 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography . The name is probably based on the Celtic name for the place, and one possible translation put forward is ' badger holes'. Hadrian's Wall was built from 122 AD and most of the wall forts a few years later. Brocolitia was built a few years later still probably to fill a slightly longer gap between forts at Housesteads , 5.2 miles (8.4 km) away, and Chesters , 3.5 miles (5.6 km) away. This later date

2640-574: The Ambivariti ( Ambiuaritos ) as one of the allies of the Veneti in their rebellion against Caesar. However Caesar's list mentioned the " Ambiliatos " in his similar list of Veneti allies. and the "Ambibari" in a list of similar coastal peoples. Caesar had also mentioned " Ambivaretis " as dependents of the Aedui . There may thus be errors in the transmission of these names and similar sounding ones. In

2728-547: The Ambivariti. He describes their position incidentally only, mentioning that a raiding group of Tencteri and Usipetes from east of the Rhine had crossed it at a point where Menapii lived on both sides of the river, and then crossed the Meuse ( Dutch Maas ) in order to raid the Ambivariti. However, Caesar does not describe the associations of these people with any others. The 4th/5th century Christian writer Orosius also listed

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2816-691: The Domus Aurea, is uncertain, as is his possible command of the vigiles (night watchmen), a lesser post. No actual post is discernible for this period. On the bare circumstances, he was an official agent of the emperor in a quasiprivate capacity. Perhaps he was between posts. In any case, his appointment as commander of the imperial fleet at Misenum took him there, where he resided with his sister and nephew. Vespasian died of disease on 23 June 79. Pliny outlived him by four months. During Nero's reign of terror, Pliny avoided working on any writing that would attract attention to himself. His works on oratory in

2904-560: The Elder ( / ˈ p l ɪ n i / PLIN -ee ), was a Roman author, naturalist , natural philosopher , and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire , and a friend of the emperor Vespasian . He wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia ( Natural History ), a comprehensive thirty-seven-volume work covering a vast array of topics on human knowledge and the natural world, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in

2992-546: The Elder decided to investigate the eruption of Mount Vesuvius , and was sidetracked by the need for rescue operations and a messenger from his friend asking for assistance. Pliny's father took him to Rome to be educated in lawmaking. Pliny relates that he saw Marcus Servilius Nonianus . In AD 46, at about age 23, Pliny entered the army as a junior officer, as was the custom for young men of equestrian rank. Ronald Syme , Plinian scholar, reconstructs three periods at three ranks. Pliny's interest in Roman literature attracted

3080-728: The Franks" to settle in Texandria in 358. According to Zosimus, in the years previous to this agreement, the Salians had already settled in the island of the Batavians, a border island of the Roman empire, forced there by Saxons from northern Germany. But they had come under attack from Saxons, who were this time raiding Roman territory (and the Salians) from the sea. "[Julian] commanded his army to attack them briskly; but not to kill any of

3168-614: The Menapii, who in Caesar's time, as opposed to Strabo's, stretched through the delta all the way to the Rhine . At one point Caesar specifically says that the cisrhenane Germani bordering the Menapii were the Eburones, who he describes as the biggest and most important tribe of the Germani . In one isolated passage, Caesar did apparently describe a tribe near the area of the later Texandri,

3256-502: The Salii, or prevent them from entering the Roman territories, because they came not as enemies, but were forced there [...] As soon as the Salii heard of the kindness of Caesar, some of them went with their king into the Roman territory, and others fled to the extremity of their country, but all humbly committed their lives and fortunes to Caesar's gracious protection." The Salians then became Roman allies ( foederati ) and provided troops for

3344-613: The Scheldt river', although some translations portray them as 'beyond' that river. Scholars generally assume that the territory of the Texandri mostly corresponded to the region of Texandria later mentioned by Ammianus ca. 390 AD. In the 380s, the Salian Franks , after being defeated by Julian ca. 358, were given permission to settle apud Toxiandriam locum ('at a place in Toxiandria'). If depopulation had already begun in

3432-412: The Texandri were not mentioned by Julius Caesar or Strabo in their reports of the region. If the Texandri were not a new name for an older group, then the Texandri and indeed the Tungri, whose name also only appears for the first time in Roman times, may have been made up of Germanic immigrants from the east of the Rhine, settling Roman territory, as certainly happened closer to the Rhine - for example

3520-434: The area by the late-2nd century (reaching its peak in the late 3rd and 4th centuries), human occupation continued along the Meuse river during the period, and it is unlikely that the sandy areas of modern North Brabant were completely deserted when Frankish settlers recolonized the region from the 5th century onward. According to Bijsterveld and Toorians (2018), "it can be plausibly argued that those living there as well as

3608-449: The attention and friendship of other men of letters in the higher ranks, with whom he formed lasting friendships. Later, these friendships assisted his entry into the upper echelons of the state; however, he was trusted for his knowledge and ability, as well. According to Syme, he began as a praefectus cohortis , a "commander of a cohort " (an infantry cohort, as junior officers began in the infantry), under Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo , himself

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3696-558: The attention of Nero, who was a dangerous acquaintance. Under Nero, Pliny lived mainly in Rome. He mentions the map of Armenia and the neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea , which was sent to Rome by the staff of Corbulo in 58. He also witnessed the construction of Nero's Domus Aurea or "Golden House" after the Great Fire of Rome in 64. Besides pleading law cases, Pliny wrote, researched, and studied. His second published work

3784-469: The campaign against the Chatti of AD 50, at age 27, in his fourth year of service. Associated with the commander in the praetorium , he became a familiar and close friend of Pomponius, who also was a man of letters. At another uncertain date, Pliny was transferred back to Germania Inferior. Corbulo had moved on, assuming command in the east. This time, Pliny was promoted to praefectus alae , "commander of

3872-529: The charge of it to my heirs, lest I should have been suspected, during my lifetime, of having been unduly influenced by ambition. By this means I confer an obligation on those who occupy the same ground with myself; and also on posterity, who, I am aware, will contend with me, as I have done with my predecessors. Pliny's last work, according to his nephew, was the Naturalis Historia ( Natural History ), an encyclopedia into which he collected much of

3960-609: The city of Tessenderlo , attested as Tessenderlon in 1135, are probably named after the tribe. The Texandri dwelled in a territory situated between the Scheldt and Rhine rivers, alongside other contemporary tribes like the Tungri . Roman writer Pliny (1st c. AD) connected the Texandri to the river Scaldis (modern Scheldt ) but the handwritten versions of the sentence a Scaldi incolunt <?> Texuandri are ambiguous. The manuscripts variously have texero , exerni , extera , or externi , which could be interpreted as meaning 'at

4048-469: The complete lack of coins from after 308 suggests that the temple did not remain in use for much of the 4th century. The temple was deliberately desecrated by the removal of the primary tauroctony scene, only a piece of which was found. Other than a collapsed roof, the temple was found almost exactly as the Romans had left it. The foundations of the temple are still visible, as are the wooden stakes on which

4136-572: The conterraneity (see below) of Catullus . How the inscription got to Verona is unknown, but it could have arrived by dispersal of property from Pliny the Younger 's estate at Colle Plinio , north of Città di Castello , identified with certainty by his initials in the roof tiles. He kept statues of his ancestors there. Pliny the Elder was born at Como , not at Verona: it is only as a native of old Gallia Transpadana that he calls Catullus of Verona his conterraneus , or fellow-countryman, not his municeps , or fellow-townsman. A statue of Pliny on

4224-473: The customs of our forefathers ( veterum more interdiu ). Pliny the Younger wanted to convey that Pliny the Elder was a "good Roman", which means that he maintained the customs of the great Roman forefathers. This statement would have pleased Tacitus. Two inscriptions identifying the hometown of Pliny the Younger as Como take precedence over the Verona theory. One ( CIL V 5262 ) commemorates the younger's career as

4312-444: The dedication. The only certain fact is that Pliny died in AD 79. Natural History is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman Empire and was intended to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. He claims to be the only Roman ever to have undertaken such a work. It encompasses the fields of botany , zoology , astronomy , geology, and mineralogy , as well as

4400-443: The economy on a sound footing. He needed in his administration all the loyalty and assistance he could find. Pliny, apparently trusted without question, perhaps (reading between the lines) recommended by Vespasian's son Titus , was put to work immediately and was kept in a continuous succession of the most distinguished procuratorships, according to Suetonius . A procurator was generally a governor of an imperial province. The empire

4488-420: The exploitation of those resources. It remains a standard work for the Roman period and the advances in technology and understanding of natural phenomena at the time. His discussions of some technical advances are the only sources for those inventions, such as hushing in mining technology or the use of water mills for crushing or grinding grain. Much of what he wrote about has been confirmed by archaeology . It

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4576-500: The extracts to his nephew. When composition of Natural History began is unknown. Since he was preoccupied with his other works under Nero and then had to finish the history of his times, he is unlikely to have begun before 70. The procuratorships offered the ideal opportunity for an encyclopedic frame of mind. The date of an overall composition cannot be assigned to any one year. The dates of different parts must be determined, if they can, by philological analysis (the post mortem of

4664-519: The façade of the Como Cathedral celebrates him as a native son. He had a sister, Plinia, who married into the Caecilii and was the mother of his nephew, Pliny the Younger, whose letters describe his work and study regimen in detail. In one of his letters to Tacitus ( avunculus meus ), Pliny the Younger details how his uncle's breakfasts would be light and simple ( levis et facilis ) following

4752-476: The field. Among Pliny's greatest works was the twenty-volume Bella Germaniae ("The History of the German Wars"), which is no longer extant . Bella Germaniae , which began where Aufidius Bassus ' Libri Belli Germanici ("The War with the Germans") left off, was used as a source by other prominent Roman historians, including Plutarch , Tacitus , and Suetonius . Tacitus may have used Bella Germaniae as

4840-404: The fifth century, Symmachus had little hope of finding a copy. Like Caligula, Nero seemed to grow gradually more insane as his reign progressed. Pliny devoted much of his time to writing on the comparatively safe subjects of grammar and rhetoric. He published a three-book, six-volume educational manual on rhetoric, entitled Studiosus , "The Student". Pliny the Younger says of it: "The orator

4928-429: The fort's west gate (in 1873) and the fort's south-west corner-tower (in 1876). The Roman Inscriptions of Britain lists 48 inscriptions for the site. They show its garrisoning units to have been as follows: The First Cohort of Frisiavones are also attested at Brocolitia at some stage, as shown by an inscription on an altar stone, which tells us that Optio Maus had repaid a vow to the goddess Coventina. (This unit

5016-598: The imperial army, in the very period that Roman influence in the area was weakening. Texandria therefore eventually became the name of a Frankish county in early medieval Lower Lotharingia . Texandria is mentioned as a large county in the 870 Treaty of Meersen , and remained the name of a large diocese of the Catholic church during the Middle Ages, under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Liège , which

5104-563: The imperial magistrate and details his considerable charitable and municipal expenses on behalf of the people of Como. Another (CIL V 5667) identifies his father Lucius' village as present-day Fecchio (tribe Oufentina), a hamlet of Cantù , near Como. Therefore, Plinia likely was a local girl and Pliny the Elder, her brother, was from Como. Gaius was a member of the Plinia gens : the Insubric root Plina still persists, with rhotacism , in

5192-433: The knowledge of his time. Some historians consider this to be the first encyclopedia written. It comprised 37 books. His sources were personal experience, his own prior works (such as the work on Germania), and extracts from other works. These extracts were collected in the following manner: One servant would read aloud, and another would write the extract as dictated by Pliny. He is said to have dictated extracts while taking

5280-462: The last years of Nero's reign (67–68) focused on form rather than on content. He began working on content again probably after Vespasian's rule began in AD 69, when the terror clearly was over and would not be resumed. It was to some degree reinstituted (and later cancelled by his son Titus) when Vespasian suppressed the philosophers at Rome, but not Pliny, who was not among them, representing, as he says, something new in Rome, an encyclopedist (certainly,

5368-438: The late-1st–2nd century AD. The variant form Toxiandria is only attested once in a 9th-century manuscript of Ammianus Marcellinus ' Res Gestae (ca. 390) to designate the region. The form Taxandria occurs five times in 9th-century sources, and also in later documents. The inconsistencies in spelling may be explained by dittography (errors by copyists), or by the fact that the older form Texandri had fallen out of usage at

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5456-580: The latter to inherit the entire estate. The adoption is called a "testamental adoption" by writers on the topic, who assert that it applied to the name change only, but Roman jurisprudence recognizes no such category. Pliny the Younger thus became the adopted son of Pliny the Elder after the latter's death. For at least some of the time, however, Pliny the Elder resided in the same house in Misenum with his sister and nephew (whose husband and father, respectively, had died young); they were living there when Pliny

5544-542: The local surname "Prina". He did not take his father's cognomen , Celer, but assumed his own, Secundus. As his adopted son took the same cognomen, Pliny founded a branch, the Plinii Secundi. The family was prosperous; Pliny the Younger's combined inherited estates made him so wealthy that he could found a school and a library, endow a fund to feed the women and children of Como, and own numerous estates around Rome and Lake Como, as well as enrich some of his friends as

5632-474: The middle of the 4th century, the area of Texandri became very de-populated, and was exposed to constant raiding from tribes across the Rhine, outside the empire. Having been amongst the worst raiders, the Salian Franks were eventually settled as foederati in Texandria. Julian the Apostate had at first fought against Saxons and Franks, including the Salians, but then allowed this one group "descended from

5720-414: The movements of the horse to assist the javelin -man in throwing missiles while astride its back. During this period, he also dreamed that the spirit of Drusus Nero begged him to save his memory from oblivion. The dream prompted Pliny to begin forthwith a history of all the wars between the Romans and the Germans, which he did not complete for some years. At the earliest time that Pliny could have left

5808-461: The neighbouring population may well have kept the geographic reference to the Texuandri (or to the territory named after them) in use." In sources of the period 709–795, the pagus Texandrie appears to be concentrated around the basin of the river Dommel and its tributaries, between the towns of Alphen , Waalre and Overpelt . It was later extended from the 9th century onward as the result of

5896-627: The nymphaeum or well are now visible. Having been in private hands for many years, the fort, which is a scheduled monument , was gifted to the nation in January 2020 by Jennifer Du Cane, whose family have owned the site since the 1950s. The fort is now in the ownership of Historic England and administered by English Heritage . Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24–79), known in English as Pliny

5984-547: The primary source for his work, De origine et situ Germanorum ("On the Origin and Situation of the Germans"). Pliny the Elder died in AD 79 in Stabiae while attempting the rescue of a friend and her family from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius . Pliny's dates are pinned to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 and a statement by his nephew that he died in his 56th year, which would put his birth in AD 23 or 24. Pliny

6072-586: The province of Africa , most likely as a procurator. Among other events or features that he saw are the provoking of rubetae , poisonous toads ( Bufonidae ), by the Psylli ; the buildings made with molded earthen walls, "superior in solidity to any cement;" and the unusual, fertile seaside oasis of Gabès (then Tacape), Tunisia, currently a World Heritage Site . Syme assigns the African procuratorship to AD 70–72. The procuratorship of Hispania Tarraconensis

6160-539: The reader". As this is the only geographic region for which he gives this information, Syme hypothesizes that Pliny contributed to the census of Hither Hispania conducted in 73/74 by Vibius Crispus, legate from the Emperor, thus dating Pliny's procuratorship there. During his stay in Hispania, he became familiar with the agriculture and especially the gold mines of the north and west of the country. His descriptions of

6248-520: The reign of terror was at an end, as was the interlude in Pliny's obligation to the state. At the end of AD 69, after a year of civil war consequent on the death of Nero, Vespasian , a successful general, became emperor. Like Pliny, he had come from the equestrian class, rising through the ranks of the army and public offices and defeating the other contenders for the highest office. His main tasks were to re-establish peace under imperial control and to place

6336-774: The right bank [of the Meuse or Rhine river'], and the region of Texandria as the 'land of the southerners'. Alternatively, J. Mansion has proposed in 1924 an alternative etymology from *texs-wandra- , formed with the West Germanic steù wandra- , which might be related to English wander and Dutch wandelen . It has also been speculated that Texandri may be a Latinized form of the Gaulish tribal name Eburones , since eburos and taxus mean 'yew' in Gaulish and Latin , respectively. The region of Texandria , attested as Toxiandriam ca. 390 ( pagus Texandrie in 709), and

6424-495: The scholars). The closest known event to a single publication date, that is, when the manuscript was probably released to the public for borrowing and copying, and was probably sent to the Flavians, is the date of the Dedication in the first of the 37 books. It is to the imperator Titus. As Titus and Vespasian had the same name, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, earlier writers hypothesized a dedication to Vespasian. Pliny's mention of

6512-519: The second Mithraeum reused materials from the Shrine to the Nymphs and Genius Loci, but preserved the altar. The shrine has a destruction layer around AD 300, roughly the same time as a destruction layer at the Temple to Mithras. The third site was 'Coventina's Well', a centre for worship of the Romano-British goddess Coventina . This sanctuary, discovered by Clayton in 1876, is the source of

6600-478: The service, Nero , the last of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , had been emperor for two years. He did not leave office until AD 68, when Pliny was 45 years old. During that time, Pliny did not hold any high office or work in the service of the state. In the subsequent Flavian dynasty , his services were in such demand that he had to give up his law practice, which suggests that he had been trying not to attract

6688-469: The stream. The well is known for the findings of over 13,000 coins, sculptural reliefs, and altars. It was built c.AD128-133, during the construction of the Vallum, in order to help control the water level of the area, it is likely after this it became associated with Coventina with the height of the cult being in the late 2nd to early 3rd centuries when the Batavians were stationed at the fort. No remains of

6776-484: The time when those manuscripts were redacted. The ethnonym Texandri , reconstructed in early West Germanic dialects as *tehswandrōz , is generally assumed to derive from the Proto-Germanic stem *tehswō(n)- ('right [hand], south'; cf. Old Saxon tesewa , Gothic taihswa , 'right, south') attached to the contrasting suffix *-dra- . The name can thus be interpreted as meaning 'those of who live south/on

6864-513: The various methods of mining appear to be eyewitness judging by the discussion of gold mining methods in his Natural History . He might have visited the mine excavated at Las Médulas . The last position of procurator, an uncertain one, was of Gallia Belgica , based on Pliny's familiarity with it. The capital of the province was Augusta Treverorum ( Trier ), named for the Treveri surrounding it. Pliny says that in "the year but one before this"

6952-493: Was The Life of Pomponius Secundus , a two-volume biography of his old commander, Pomponius Secundus. Meanwhile, he was completing his monumental work, Bella Germaniae , the only authority expressly quoted in the first six books of the Annales of Tacitus , and probably one of the principal authorities for the same author's Germania . It disappeared in favor of the writings of Tacitus (which are far shorter), and, early in

7040-407: Was expanded to 11 metres (36 ft) in length in a second stage, at which time the temple also gained elaborate furnishings and extensive woodwork. This second stage existed for the entire 3rd century, and included at least two major renovations. The second stage was looted and the furnishings destroyed around 296–297 AD, but the sanctuary itself and the stone monuments remained intact, and the temple

7128-457: Was going to Emperor Vespasian (for he also made use of the night), then he did the other duties assigned to him. In this passage, Pliny the Younger conveys to Tacitus that his uncle was ever the academic, always working. The word ibat (imperfect, "he used to go") gives a sense of repeated or customary action. In the subsequent text, he mentions again how most of his uncle's day was spent working, reading, and writing. He notes that Pliny "was indeed

7216-470: Was next. A statement by Pliny the Younger that his uncle was offered 400,000 sesterces for his manuscripts by Larcius Licinius while he (Pliny the Elder) was procurator of Hispania makes it the most certain of the three. Pliny lists the peoples of "Hither Hispania", including population statistics and civic rights (modern Asturias and Gallaecia ). He stops short of mentioning them all for fear of "wearying

7304-571: Was originally conceived as the diocese of the Roman administrative area of the Tungri . Carrawburgh Carrawburgh is a settlement in Northumberland . In Roman times, it was the site of a 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -acre (1.5 ha) auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall called Brocolitia , Procolita , or Brocolita . The name "Procolita" is found in the 5th-century document, the Notitia Dignitatum , and "Brocoliti" in

7392-401: Was perpetually short of, and was always seeking, officeholders for its numerous offices. Throughout the latter stages of Pliny's life, he maintained good relations with Emperor Vespasian. As is written in the first line of Pliny the Younger's Avunculus Meus : Ante lucem ibat ad Vespasianum imperatorem (nam ille quoque noctibus utebatur), deinde ad officium sibi delegatum . Before dawn he

7480-451: Was re-equipped in a third stage shortly thereafter. The third stage includes three monuments by different cohort prefects , commanders of Cohors I Batavorum, a Roman Batavi unit of auxiliary cavalry stationed at Brocolitia. All three date to the 3rd century. The youngest coin found on the premises was a freshly-minted follis of Maximian ( r. 296–308). This coincides with the third structural period on Hadrian's Wall (297–367), but

7568-477: Was sole emperor, but was awarded for a military victory, in this case that in Jerusalem in 70. Aside from minor finishing touches, the work in 37 books was completed in AD 77. That it was written entirely in 77 or that Pliny was finished with it then cannot be proved. Moreover, the dedication could have been written before publication, and it could have been published either privately or publicly earlier without

7656-554: Was the son of an equestrian Gaius Plinius Celer and his wife, Marcella. Neither the younger nor the elder Pliny mention the names. Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription ( CIL V 1 3442 ) found in a field in Verona and recorded by the 16th-century Augustinian friar Onofrio Panvinio . The form is an elegy . The most commonly accepted reconstruction is PLINIVS SECVNDVS AVGV. LERI. PATRI. MATRI. MARCELLAE. TESTAMENTO FIERI IVSSO Plinius Secundus augur ordered this to be made as

7744-539: Was thus multi-ethnic and the Plinies could have come from anywhere. Whether any conclusions can be drawn from Pliny's preference for Greek words, or Julius Pokorny 's derivation of the name from north Italic as "bald" is a matter of speculative opinion. No record of any ethnic distinctions in Pliny's time is apparent—the population considered themselves to be Roman citizens. Pliny the Elder did not marry and had no children. In his will, he adopted his nephew, which entitled

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