THE Bodicacia tombstone has gone on public display for the first time today at Cirencester's Corinium Museum.

The tombstone, which dates back to the second century AD, was discovered at the former Bridges Garage Site in Tetbury Road during excavation work in February 2015 and is one of the best preseved examples of a Roman tombstone to be found in the UK. 

A team of specialists at Cotswold Archeology spent several months examining the tombstone before it was returned to the Corinium Museum last month. 

The museum hosted a launch event to unveil the tombstone on Wednesday, February 3 that was attended by over 100 people including Friends of the Museum, who paid for the installation, and Cotswold Archeology. 

Amanda Hart, Museum Director, said: “I am delighted that Bodicacia is going on display and joining the six other inscribed tombstones found in Cirencester.

“It’s amazing that in this day and age we can still find something so significant.”

 “We had a lecture last week that was sold out and scheduled another in March that has already sold out too which shows there is huge interest in this find.”

Despite some debate, it was determined that the tombstone’s inscription reads: “To the shades of the dead; Bodicacia; spouse; lived 27 years.”

The name Bodicacia, has Celtic origins and was unknown until the discovery of the tombstone, although examples of the name Bodica, Bodicca and other variations have found elsewhere in the Roman Empire, for example Lollia Bodicca in Algiers.

The wording of the inscription is also of interest, as the position of the word spouse suggests that the tombstone was not meant to be read alone and may originally have been positioned next to that of Bodicacia’s husband.

"It's really exciting, we saw it on the news and had to come visit", said Jean and Phil David on holiday from San Francisco. 

"The exhibition is first class", added Mr & Mrs Evens-Warmingham, from Gloucester. "We are so lucky that it has been so well preserved."

  • The Corinium Museum is open Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm and Sundays 2-4pm. For more information visit coriniummuseum.org