Loan contracts, three hirings, slave sales and the dissolution of a burial college: 25 documents from 139–167, kept in wax, with names and sums.
After CIL III and Bruns, 1876 · 19 September 2026
Roman gallery at Roșia Montană, with lamps on the wall (photo Codrinb, 2011, CC BY-SA) Photo: Codrinb, 2011 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The short answer
In the gold galleries at Roșia Montană, Roman miners hid their deed chests after 167: 25 documents on waxed wood, of which 9 read from start to finish. Loans at interest, hirings for mine work, sales of slaves and houses, a moneylending partnership, and the dissolution of the burial college of Iovis Cernenus.
Their story unfolds in 4 chapters, then 3 tablets land in your hand, clause by clause, in Latin and in the author's own translation.
Chapter I · 106–131
The coming of the miners
Trajan founds the mining town; Illyrians from Dalmatia dig for gold.
After the conquest of Dacia, the Romans found a mining town at Alburnus Maior and bring Illyrian colonists from south Dalmatia, skilled in gold mines. The village stays a peregrine settlement: free people, but without Roman citizenship.
The earliest mention of the town stands on a tablet dated 6 February 131. From then until 167, miners, moneylenders and widows write their agreements on waxed wood, in cursive letters hard to read, and seal them with 7 witnesses.
The tablets come to light gradually, between 1786 and 1855, from the galleries near Verespatak, most of them from the Cătălina-Monulești gallery. The first deciphering attempt is in 1840, and Mommsen gives the complete collection in CIL III, in 1873.
Roman chamber in the mine at Roșia Montană (photo Codrinb, 2011, CC BY-SA) Photo: Codrinb, 2011 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
in metallis aurariis Transsylvanicis prope oppidum Verespatak ... inde ab a. 1786 usque 1855 repertae sunt
"found in the gold mines of Transylvania, near Verespatak, between 1786 and 1855" (own translation)
Bruns, Fontes, 1876, p. 185
Chapter II · 139–162
The market in the galleries
Slaves, houses and loans at interest, written on triptychs and sealed.
On 17 March 139, Maximus Batonis buys from Dasius Verzonis a girl of about 6, Passia, for 205 denarii. On 16 May 142, Dasius Breucus buys a Greek boy, Apalaustus, for 600 denarii. On 6 May 159, Andueia Batonis takes half a house for 300 denarii, and on 4 October 160 a soldier of the XIII Gemina legion buys a Cretan woman, Theudote, for 420 denarii.
Every sale carries guarantees: the slave is healthy, does not run away, does not steal, and if anyone else claims him, the seller pays double the price. Every price is paid on the spot, in ready money.
There is lending too: on 20 June 162, Iulius Alexander takes 140 denarii at 1% a month, and on 20 October 162 he himself lends 60 denarii to Alexander Caricci. One tablet is written in Greek, the only one.
The triptych of the Apalaustus sale, the plate in Bruns, 1876 (public domain) Plate: Bruns, Fontes iuris Romani antiqui (1876) (public domain)
Dasius Breucus emit mancipioque accepit puerum Apalaustum ... *DC
"Dasius Breucus bought and took into ownership the boy Apalaustus, for 600 denarii" (own translation)
Tablet VII, 16 May 142 (CIL III 941)
Chapter III · 163–164
The hiring of the gold men
Three free miners hire out by the day: 70 denarii and another man's signature.
On 23 October 163, Lucius Ulpius Valerius hires himself to Socratio for one year, for 70 denarii. On 20 May 164, Memmius Asclepi hires himself to Aurelius Adiutor, for gold-mine work, until 13 November, likewise for 70 denarii. A third man, Restitutus called Senior, takes 105 denarii, 25 in advance.
None of them can write: each time someone else writes, asked, in his presence, because the man "said he knew no letters". The worker himself asks for and pays for the written deed.
Whoever leaves without consent pays 5 sesterces a day; if mine water stops him, his pay is cut pro rata; if the employer delays payment, he pays the same fine, with 3 days of grace.
Rock face in the Roman mine (photo Codrinb, 2011, CC BY-SA) Photo: Codrinb, 2011 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
quia se litteras scire negavit
"because he said he knew no letters", the illiterate's formula, in all 3 hirings (own translation)
The labour tablets, 163–164 (Bruns, pp. 191–192)
Chapter IV · 167–1855
The leaving and the forgetting
The college dissolves, the deeds are walled into the mine, and wait 16 centuries.
On 9 February 167, the burial college of Iovis Cernenus dissolves itself by public notice: of 54 members only 17 are left at Alburnus, nobody comes to meetings and nobody pays. On 28 March the moneylending partnership of Cassius Frontinus and Iulius Alexander is written down, and on 29 May Iulius leaves 50 denarii in keeping with Lupus Carentis.
After 167 nothing more is written: the tablets are walled into the galleries, probably as the population withdrew before the invasion, an inference Pólay drew from the last date, not a fact from the tablets.
Over 40 tablets come to light between 1786 and 1855, but only 4 complete triptychs. Massmann deciphers them first in 1840, and Mommsen gathers them in CIL III, pages 921–959, in 1873.
The Roman gallery that kept the tablets (photo Codrinb, 2011, CC BY-SA) Photo: Codrinb, 2011 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
ne putet se collegium habere
"let him not think he still has a college", the dissolution notice of 9 February 167 (own translation)
Tablet I (CIL III 924)
The tablet, clause by clause
3 complete documents, 4 clauses each: the Latin from Bruns, 1876, beside the author's own translation.
The Latin is from Bruns (1876), public domain; the translation is the author's own.
The sale of the boy Apalaustus
16 May 142 · Tablet VII · CIL III 941 · Bruns, pp. 186–187
Dasius Breucus buys a Greek boy for 600 denarii, at the canabae of the XIII Gemina legion.
The parties and the price
Dasius Breucus emit mancipioque accepit puerum Apalaustum, sive is quo alio nomine est, n(atione) Graecum, apochatum pro uncis duabus, *DC, de Bellico Alexandri, f(ide) r(ogato) M. Vibio Longo.
Dasius Breucus bought and took into ownership the boy Apalaustus, or by whatever other name he goes, Greek by nation, registered for two twelfths, for 600 denarii, from Bellicus son of Alexander, with Marcus Vibius Longus as guarantor.
The health warranty
Eum puerum sanum traditum esse, furtis noxaque solutum, erronem fugitivum caducum non esse praestari.
It is warranted that the boy was handed over healthy, clear of thefts and wrongs, and that he is no wanderer, runaway or epileptic.
The double on eviction
Et si quis eum puerum, q(uo) d(e) a(gitur), partemve quam quis ex eo evicerit ... tunc quantum id erit quod ita ex eo evictum fuerit, t(antam) p(ecuniam) duplam ...
And if anyone evicts this boy in question, or any part of him, then whatever is thus taken, that sum, double ...
The receipt and the date
Proque eo puero ... pretium eius *DC accepisse et habere se dixit Bellicus Alexandri ab Dasio Breuco. Act(um) kanab(is) leg(ionis) XIII g(eminae) XVII kal(endas) Iunias Rufino et Quadrato co(n)s(ulibus).
And for the boy, Bellicus son of Alexander said he received and has its price, 600 denarii, from Dasius Breucus. Done at the canabae of the XIII Gemina legion, on the 17th day before the Kalends of June, when Rufinus and Quadratus were consuls, that is on 16 May 142.
The hiring of Memmius
20 May 164 · The labour tablet · Bruns, p. 191
Memmius son of Asclepius hires himself for gold-mine work until 13 November, for 70 denarii.
The hiring
... se locasse et locavit operas suas opere aurario Aurelio Adiutori ex hac die in idus Novembris proximas *septuaginta ...
... hired himself out and did hire out his labour for gold-mine work to Aurelius Adiutor, from this day until the next Ides of November, for 70 denarii ...
The leaving fine
Quod si invito conductore recedere aut cessare voluerit, dare debebit in dies singulos HS V numeratos.
But if he wishes to leave or stay away without the hirer's consent, he must give, for each single day, 5 sesterces counted out.
The employer's fine
Conductor si tempore peracto mercedem solvendi moram fecerit, eadem poena tenebitur exceptis cessatis tribus.
If the hirer, when the time is up, delays paying the wage, he is held to the same penalty, except for 3 days of grace.
Another man's signature
[Macri]no et Celso co(n)s(ulibus), XIII kal(endas) Iunias, Flavius Secundinus scripsi rogatus a Memmio Asclepi, quia se litteras scire negavit ...
When Macrinus and Celsus were consuls, on the 13th day before the Kalends of June, that is on 20 May 164, Flavius Secundinus wrote, asked by Memmius son of Asclepius, because he said he knew no letters ...
The dissolution of the college
9 February 167 · Tablet I · CIL III 924 · Bruns, pp. 224–225
The burial college of Iovis Cernenus dissolves itself by notice: of 54 members 17 are left.
The heads of the college
Artemidorus Apolloni, magister collegi Iovis Cerneni, et Valerius Niconis et Offas Menofili, quaestores collegi eiusdem, posito hoc libello publice testantur:
Artemidorus son of Apollo, master of the college of Iovis Cernenus, and Valerius son of Nico and Offas son of Menophilus, treasurers of the same college, setting up this notice, testify in public:
The count
ex collegio s(upra) s(cripto), ubi erant homines LIIII, ex eis non plus remansisse ad Alburnum quam quot homines XVII; Iulium Iuli quoque, commagistrum suum, ex die magisteri sui non accessisse ad Alburnum ...
of the above college, where there were 54 men, no more than 17 men have remained at Alburnus; and Iulius son of Iulius, his fellow master, has not come to Alburnus since the day of his mastership ...
The reason
modoque autem neque funeraticis sufficerent neque loculum haberet, neque quisquam tam magno tempore diebus quibus legi continetur convenire voluerint aut conferre funeraticia sive munera.
and now neither would the funeral money suffice, nor do they have a chest, and nobody, for so long a time, has been willing to meet on the days the statute sets or to bring funeral money or gifts.
The decision
Seque idcirco per hunc libellum publice testantur, ut, si quis defunctus fuerit, ne putet se collegium habere aut ab eis aliquem petitionem funeris habiturum. Propositus Alburno maiori V idus Febr(uarias), imp(eratore) L. Aur(elio) Vero III et Quadrato co(n)s(ulibus).
And therefore they testify by this notice, in public, that if anyone dies, let him not think he has a college or will get any funeral from them. Set up at Alburnus Maior on the 5th day before the Ides of February, when Lucius Aurelius Verus was emperor, consul for the 3rd time, together with Quadratus, that is on 9 February 167.
The numbers
Six figures hold the whole story.
25documents in CIL III
4complete triptychs out of 40+ tablets found
7witness seals on every sale
70denarii, Memmius's wage for almost 6 months
600denarii, the price of the boy Apalaustus
12percent a year, the highest interest
Fill in the tablet
4 gaps, 4 answers: choose the clause like a Roman, then see the tablet.
Memmius wants to leave the mine without the consent of Aurelius Adiutor. The tablet of 20 May 164 says he pays, per day:
Answer
"in dies singulos HS V numeratos", 5 sesterces for each day, after Bruns, p. 191.
The boy Apalaustus is claimed by another master. The seller of 16 May 142 pays the buyer:
Answer
"tantam pecuniam duplam", the stipulation of the double, after CIL III 941.
Iulius Alexander borrows 140 denarii on 20 June 162. The interest written in the tablet is:
Answer
"singulas centesimas", 1% a month, that is 12% a year, after CIL III 930.
On 9 February 167, the college of Iovis Cernenus dissolves because at Alburnus there are left:
Answer
"ubi erant homines LIIII, non plus quam quot homines XVII", after CIL III 924.
Score: 0 of 4
Myths on trial
What the tablets say, and what they don't.
"The Dacians' gold, stolen by the Romans"
They say the Romans stole the Dacians' gold and set the Dacians to dig by force.
In the 25 surviving documents, the miners are hired Illyrians on wages, Greek and Roman moneylenders, soldiers and widows; not one line mentions Dacians set to forced labour, nor any gold shipment to Rome. The mines are worked by contractors like Aurelius Adiutor, with men hired on wages of 70 denarii.
"The miners were slaves"
They believe slaves worked in the mines.
The surviving hirings are of free men: Memmius, Lucius Ulpius Valerius, Restitutus. Slaves appear in the tablets as bought goods, between 205 and 600 denarii, and Nótári shows slave labour mattered little in Dacia.
"The tablets are written in Dacian"
They say the tablets keep the language of the Dacians.
All 25 documents are in Latin except one alone, written in Greek. No tablet keeps any text in the Dacian language; even a guarantor, Alexander son of Antipater, signs in Greek.
"The college was dissolved by the authorities"
They believe the authorities shut the burial college.
The opposite: the last members dissolve it themselves, by public notice, because they no longer meet or pay. The accounts are rendered openly, and the dead are told they "have no college".
Roman dates are reckoned by the rule of Kalends, Nones and Ides: the Kalends fall on the 1st, the Nones on the 5th or 7th, the Ides on the 13th or 15th. Every conversion is verified by the check script in the built pages.
All translations from the Latin are the author's own and marked as such; the originals are public domain after Bruns, 1876, and CIL III.
What cannot be proven is flagged openly: the earliest date (131, in some readings 137 or 139), the sense of "apochatum pro uncis duabus", the hapax "sportellaria", and the walling-in of the tablets after 167, which is Pólay's inference.
The story stops at the withdrawal of 271 and at Mommsen, 1873: not one line about the modern mining at Roșia Montană.
