Qui portat lanceam. Toward a Hermeneutics of the Spear in the Northeastern Hispanic Spear Stelae

Abstract

The Roman polymath Marcus Terentius Varro is apparently credited with the view that the term lancea is not of Latin but of Hispanic origin. Based on evidence from toponymy and anthroponymy, this origin should be sought in the Lusitanian region, as research has established. This conclusion is now contrasted with corresponding archaeological monuments—the lance stelae of southern Aragon and Baetulo. These are considered the most significant decorated Iron Age, pre-Roman reliefs of the northern Pyrenean Peninsula. However, the present examination reveals them to be Roman tombstones of the imperial-era typical of a small hinterland region between Zaragoza, Lérida, and Teruel. The patrons are likely to have been newly emerging social groups, such as freedmen, in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD. The depiction of the lance served as a medium for self-representation, while simultaneously allowing them to express an allegiance to traditional values.