Record

RefNoMS/790/177
LevelItem
TitleLetter from John Ward, Gresham College, to Martin Folkes
CreatorWard; John (1678/9-1758); British antiquary and biographer
RecipientFolkes; Martin (1690 - 1754); antiquary and natural philosopher
Date13 October 1740
DescriptionReturns the copy of the Chichester inscription Folkes sent him [not enclosed] and shares his thoughts. The account given by the Duke of Richmond leaves no doubt it is genuine and it must be as old as Nero. The information in the first six lines can be supplied by contemporary coins of Nero, and he has copied this onto page three of the letter. He discusses the difficulty with reconciling the seventh line with the dates of Nero's reign. He also discusses the letter 'C' in the last line. He explains that such inscriptions were common practice to mark the accession of a new emperor in the provinces governed by Rome, and to entreat the continuation of their reign at festivals every five years. He thinks this inscitpion would be consistent with a quinquennalia in Nero's reign and it may help them to date other Roman inscriptions in Britain.
Extent3p
FormatManuscript
PhysicalDescriptionInk on paper
AccessStatusOpen
Fellows associated with this archive
CodePersonNameDates
NA864Ward; John (c 1679 - 1758)c 1679 - 1758
NA8378Folkes; Martin (1690 - 1754); antiquary and natural philosopher1690 - 1754
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