FOUND IN BRITAIN. 223 



The dateS; given* by the Reviewer, were, I believe, those " usually 

 accepted," and are still received by some. Under ordinary circum-. 

 stances, then, I should not have impugned their accuracy, but the 

 object of my book being to correct received opinions, if they seemed 

 to me to be unsatisfactory, I felt bound to notice them as in my 

 judgment erroneous, especially as they seemed to be advanced as an 

 emendation of those previously given in the Monumenta Historica 

 Britanniea. 



I shall now give the grounds of my opinion. The question is 

 whether the date of the inscription, as given above, is 253-259 

 A.D. or 254-260 A.D. The former is selected by the Reviewer, the 

 latter by me. My reason for adopting 260 instead of 259 is, that it 

 appears from mention of the name of the Csesar Valerian (i.e. Salo- 

 ninus) in the Code of Justinian, iv. 6, 4 ; v. 42, 2; and x. 16, 2, 

 that he was alive when the first two of those laws were given, sciL 

 on the 27th of April and the 15th of May, in the consulship of 

 Scscularis ii. and Bonatus, i.e. 260 A.D. It is true that he is not 

 mentioned in all the laws of this year, but neither is he in all of the 

 preceding years, when he was unquestionably alive. As to the 

 choice between 253 and 254, I preferred the latter, on the authority 

 of Aurelius Victor, de Ccesaribus, c. 32 ; Licinio Valeriano imperium 

 deferunt. * * Ejus filium Gallienum Senatus Ccesarem create 

 statimque Tiberis adult a (Estate diluvii faeie inundavit. What 

 summer is that mentioned here ? Certainly not of a year before the 

 death of the Galli. ^ Now we have unquestionable evidence that they 

 were not slain until their fourth tribunician year, and, as their first 

 year cannot have commenced before the death of Decius, who was 

 killed in 251, their death and the recognition of Gallienus by the 

 senate cannot have taken place before 254. I do not question the 

 assertion that Valerian assumed the imperial title and made Gallienus 



• As much confusion exists relative to this period of history, I subjoin an extract of the 

 principal events of the years 251, 252, 25S, and 254, that I drew up for my own use after a 

 careful examination of all the ancient and the chief modern authorities. 



251. Death of Decius iu November. Accession of Gallus and Hostilianus, with Volusianus 



as Caesar. 



252. Death of Hostilianus in the autumn or winter, after the beginning of the pestilence. 



253. Assumption of the Imperial power by ^milianus in the summer, about the end of 



July. Valerian proclaimed Augustus by the army in the winter, about the time of 

 the entrance of ^milianus into Italy. 



254. Deaths of the Galli (soil. Trebonianus and Volusianus) at Interamnse, in February. 



and accession of iBmilianus. Death of jEmilianus in May, and recognition of Gal- 

 lienus by the senate, in June. Valerian and Gallienus are substituted as Consuls 

 for those who commenced the year. 



