Roman nobleman’s will is to sell on February 21

The last will and testament of a Roman nobleman will sell at Timeline Auctions on February 21.

The pair of wooden tablets dates back to the 3rd or 4th century AD and concern the estate of a man named Julius Fiddin.

Roman will Fiddin

The will dates to around the 3rd or 4th century AD

It consists of instructions on who is to get his house, livestock and other earthly possessions.

It’s a well-documented piece and has passed through a series of important private collections since its discovery in the 1950s. `

The auction house expects it to bring in around $20,000-30,000.

Auctioneer Tim Wonnacott, of Bargain Hunt fame, explained: “What we know about him [Fiddin] is that he had considerable property and in his last will and testament on the two tablets he details his specific requests.

“That is, the individual items that he wants to go to individual members of his family.

“For example, he leaves one boy a camel. He leaves another two boys a camel that has a female child.

"Clearly there’s some kind of ritual going on here in the Roman period about which we know nothing.”

Camels were used throughout the Roman empire, including in western Europe.

Their remains have been found as far north as Belgium, making it difficult to pinpoint the whereabouts of Fiddin’s homestead.

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