The Mérida Monumental City Consortium has discovered the Early Christian tombstone of a girl named Pascentia—who died at the age of ten on May 18, 519 AD—on a plot of land at Rambla Santa Eulalia.
Consortium archaeologist Gilberto Sánchez explained to Europa Press that the discovery was made at number 48 Rambla Street, “as part of the emergency excavations the Consortium has been carrying out throughout the city.”
The archaeologist detailed the discovery of “a unique piece: a tombstone—specifically a grave cover—bearing an inscription referring to a Christian girl, dating to the 6th century,” noting that “what stands out is the exact date of her death.”
Gilberto Sánchez clarified that the tombstone specifies the “Era of Caesar” and indicates the exact date of death: “this girl died on May 18, 519 AD, in the early 6th century.”
Regarding the girl’s social status, Gilberto Sánchez stated that “she evidently belonged to the high nobility,” as “not just anyone could afford the luxury of commissioning a tombstone from a sculpture workshop—clearly a local one—of such high prestige.”
As for the symbolism, the expert highlighted that “the inscription is surrounded by a laurel wreath, symbolizing the triumph of life over death,” alongside two facing doves; these birds “are associated with Saint Eulalia, as legend holds that a white dove flew from her mouth when she died.”
The Consortium specialist noted a “complete sequence of occupation” spanning from the 1st to the 16th century within “a highly significant funerary area—not just on this specific plot, but throughout the entire zone.” Finally, Gilberto Sánchez has confirmed that the team will consult “an epigrapher—a specialist—to get much more out of” the piece, with the aim of “publishing it, and it will likely appear in a city museum in the future.”
