Sunday 26 August 2012

Roman Rose Bed


What is the oldest thing in this picture taken in the Museum Gardens? The stone coffins are Roman, the flower bed wall is made from stone salvaged from St Mary's Abbey after it was dissolved by Henry VIII in the 1530s. The rose however, according to fossil evidence, is 35 million years old! Although quite what red roses are doing in a Yorkshire botanical garden I am not sure.................

10 comments:

  1. Do you ever wonder about the men who carved those coffins and those bits and pieces of St. Mary's Abbey? Who they were, what they enjoyed, what they suffered, did they love their wives and children, what kind of lives they lead? What they believed, what they ate, were they happy or miserable or both...

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    1. Yes indeed Sara. Not just those who carved them but those for whom they were made. To answer some of your thoughts the following is carved on one of the coffins:
      "To the spirits of the departed and Flavia Augustina who lived thirty-nine years seven months and eleven days, a son Saenius Augustinus who lived one year and three days [and a daughter] Augustina? who lived one year nine months and five days, Gaius Aeresius Saenus, veteran of the Sixth Victorious Legion, set this up for his dearest wife and family"
      There have also been over twenty altars to the gods recovered over the years from Roman York which gives an idea of what they believed in.

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  2. I am constantly amazed by your stories and photos of York, but this might be the most amazing post of all. Wonderful.

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  3. those roses have aged well :)
    I am almost speechless over these coffins and the inscription.

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  4. I wonder if Gaius Aeresius Saenus worked on the wall built in the time of Hadrian.

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  5. It all depends on the point of view. Very beautiful. Thank you.




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