Vatican Museums

Prima died (decessit) at the age of one hundred years, surviving her husband in a state of widowhood (bidua, engraved on the stone, is a form of vidua resulting from its pronunciation). Her longevity in an era with a high rate of early mortality is exceptional. The Latin verb decessit is repeated a second time to indicate the specific day of death: 7 December, year unknown. The date of death / burial was very important to Christians because it marked the dies natalis, the day of birth to eternal life. The text concludes with the acclamation in pace, typical of Christian sepulchral inscriptions and alluding to repose in the tomb.