DEBELT, BULGARIA—A fragment of a bronze Roman military diploma has been found during excavations of the public baths at the ancient city of Deultum in eastern Bulgaria, according to a report in The Sofia Globe. Such diplomas were awarded, along with Roman citizenship, to auxiliary soldiers who had served in the army at least 25 years. Examination of the 1.5-inch fragment by epigraphist Nikolay Sharankov revealed that it contains an excerpt from a decree of the emperor Hadrian, dated July 17, 122, dismissing veterans in the province of Lower Dacia. Deultum became part of the Roman imperial province of Thrace in A.D. 46, and in A.D. 70 the emperor Vespasian established a colony there for military veterans who had fought during the civil war a year before. To read about a Roman military veteran’s villa unearthed in Bulgaria, go to “Mirror, Mirror.”
