Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Street art in Cartagena.
Colombia • 10 days, 9 nights
Colombia Discovery: Coffee, Art & Music
from
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Lighthouse and Museum of Jára Cimrman (Maják a muzeum Járy Cimrmana).
Lighthouse of Jára Cimrman
Markers honor 865 war dead.
Sovjet Ereveld (Soviet Field of Honor)
The intaglio leaves a subtle impression on the land along Riverside Drive in Fort Atkinson.
Panther Intaglio
Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
USDA and Washington State agriculture officials tagged this Asian giant hornet. Sept. 10, 2021.
What Ever Happened to the Murder Hornets?
about 9 hours ago
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations
2 days ago
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
3 days ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Germany Stuttgart Cataphract Funerary Monument

Cataphract Funerary Monument

A funerary monument for two brothers who served in the Roman cavalry.

Stuttgart, Germany

Added By
mothginny
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Carving   Vexillum / CC BY 3.0
Carving   Vexillum / CC BY 3.0
The funerary stele depicting a cataphract   Vexillum / CC BY 3.0
  Vexillum / CC BY 3.0
Inscription   Vexillum / CC BY 3.0
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

This grave stele was found in an ancient burial ground in 1930 in Bad Cannstatt (Stuttgart), and it commemorates two brothers, named Aurelius Saluda and Aurelius Regrethus, who lived in the third century. They were likely to be mercenaries, and more specifically cataphracts, or heavily armored cavalrymen.

Another term used in ancient times for cataphracts was clinabari, which is derived from Greek and meant “camp-oven bearers,” probably a humorous comparison between the heated armored soldiers under the burning sun and an oven. According to the inscriptions, the two brothers served in the Ala Firma Catafractaria, a unit established in Mesopotamia and deployed all the way to the northern frontier of the Roman Empire from 222 to 235 in order to fight against the Alemanni.

Because of how powerful the units of cataphracts were in ancient warfare, before being deployed by the Romans the brothers had probably already fought many battles (and lived many adventures) together all around the ancient world, to eventually meet their ends fighting against a Germanic tribe, in what’s likely to be the battle of Harzhorn, 235.

This funerary monument is a beautiful and important testimony of how articulate and diverse the Roman army was, and the fascinating story it tells about two skillful warriors from ancient times can be still appreciated by us. Today the stele is preserved in Landesmuseum Württemberg.

Related Tags

Museums Gravestones Ancient Roman Archaeology

Community Contributors

Added By

mothginny

Edited By

Michelle Cassidy

  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

February 7, 2023

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landesmuseum_W%C3%BCrttemberg
  • https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Grave-stele-from-Stuttgart-Bad-Cannstatt-depicting-a-member-of-a-cataphractarii-unit_fig4_273263477
Cataphract Funerary Monument
Altes Schloss, Schillerpl. 6
Stuttgart, 70173
Germany
48.777348, 9.179635
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Pig Museum

Stuttgart, Germany

miles away

Monte Scherbelino (Rubble Hill)

Stuttgart, Germany

miles away

Stuttgart Cable Car

Stuttgart, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Germany

Places 7
Stories 1

Nearby Places

The Pig Museum

Stuttgart, Germany

miles away

Monte Scherbelino (Rubble Hill)

Stuttgart, Germany

miles away

Stuttgart Cable Car

Stuttgart, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Germany

Places 7
Stories 1

Related Places

  • Silchester Eagle

    Reading, England

    Silchester Eagle

    Once believed to be a sacred Roman legionary symbol, this bronze figure inspired the 1954 novel 'The Eagle of the Ninth.'

  • The Capitoline Triad at the Rodolfo Lanciani Archaeological Museum.

    Montecelio, Italy

    Capitoline Triad

    This incredible second-century sculpture depicts a trio of gods worshipped by the ancient Romans.

  • The Woodeaton wolf-god.

    London, England

    Wolf-God of Woodeaton

    A gruesome and mysterious ancient sculpture of a pagan deity from the Roman occupation of Celtic Britain.

  • The central atrium.

    Almuñécar, Spain

    Cave of the Seven Palaces

    Despite its grandiose name, this enigmatic first-century void under the town is no cave, and it's possibly not a palace either.

  • The stele.

    Cáceres, Spain

    The 'Astronaut' of Casar

    A strange anthropomorphic stele with a mysterious inscription that has never been deciphered.

  • The Roman theater seen from Amman Citadel.

    Amman, Jordan

    Roman Theater of Amman

    This exceptionally well-preserved ancient marvel also houses a small museum dedicated to Jordanian folk tradition.

  • B.C. era urn.

    San Antonio, Texas

    Roman Urn Collection at SAMA

    Amazingly detailed marble cinerary urns that once held the cremains of Roman elite.

  • Glass floors reveal layers of underlying history.

    Lecce, Italy

    Museo Faggiano

    One man's quest to fix his toilet unearthed over 5,000 artifacts spanning more than 2,000 years of history.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.