Funerary stele; place of discovery: Micia (Vețel, Hunedoara County); 3rd century AD.
Profiled funerary stele with a horseshoe-shaped niche, in which a medallion depicting the deceased is placed. The group consists of two women and a young man in the top row, and a man and a child placed in front of them.
The stele is ordered by Aurelia Surilla for the members of her family: her husband Aurelius Maturus?, a veteran of Cohors II Flavia Commagenorum, who lived 50 years, and her children Aurelius Primanus, who lived 19 years, Aurelius Surus of Numerus Maurorum Miciensium, who lived 20 years, Aurelia Eustina, who lived 18 years. The whole family bears the gentilic Aurelius, acquired when Aurelius Maturus was discharged and received citizenship. He was enlisted in the Commageni cohort at Micia, his son Aurelius Surus joining the auxiliary troop later stationed in the same town, Numerus Maurorum Miciensium. The girl’s correct name should have been written Iustina. In the inscription, we see milis written instead of the correct form of the word - miles, a change that sometimes occurs in Dacia, and seems to be a regional variant of vulgar pronunciation. Another linguistic peculiarity is the simplification of the geminate mm in the name Com(m)agenoru(m), as well as the loss of the final consonant, attributes that are derived from spelling by the sound of the spoken language. The spelling presents several ligatures, including in the case of numerals: MAT, VRV in Maturus, AN in an(nis), AVR, EL in Aurelia, ATE in mater, XV in XVIII.
Inscription: D(is) M(anibus) / Aur(elius) Maṭuṛuṣ vet/eranus c(o)hor(tis) / Com(m)agenoru(m) vix(it) an(nis) L Aur(elius) Prima/nus vix(it) an(nis) XVIIII Aur(elius) / Surus milis N(umeri) Ma(urorum) / M(iciensium) vix(it) an(nis) XX Aur(elia) Eus/tina vix(it) an(nis) b(ona?) s(alute?) XVIII Aurel/ia Surilla mater p(ro) p(ietate) f(ecit) / b(ene) m(erentibus).