OC 010 · Tombstone · Europe

Regina’s tombstone

A carved Roman tombstone of a seated woman with a basket and a jewellery box
The photograph shows the replica in the British Museum. The original is at Arbeia, South Shields. Photo: Jeremy Bolwell, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph.
Number on this site
OC 010
What it is
Tombstone
Made
2nd century AD
Found
At South Shields, south-west of the Roman fort, in 1878
Now held by
Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum, South Shields
Museum number
TWCMS: T765

Set up by Barates, from Palmyra in what is now Syria, for his wife Regina, a Catuvellaunian who had been enslaved and freed. She died aged 30. The words are in Latin, and in Palmyrene, his own language.1

Where it sits in human time

Made about 1,900 years ago. On this strip, each step to the right is ten times closer to today.

300,000 years ago10,0003,0001,000100nowRegina’s tombstone

Seen in

Filed under

Sources for this page

Every number on this page comes from one of these. How we check.

Last reviewed 12 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

  1. The Roman Inscriptions of Britain, RIB 1065: funerary inscription for Regina, South Shields. Text, translation, description and notes. romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/1065Used for: Regina’s tombstone: its words in Latin and Palmyrene, its carving, where and when it was found. Checked 12 November 2026.