Lucius Artorius Castus (fl. 2nd century AD) was a Roman military commander. A member of the gens Artoria (possibly of Messapic or Etruscan origin), he has been suggested as a potential historical basis for King Arthur. Military career according to sources [[Image:LAC Jackson.jpg|thumb|300px|alt=A drawing of the first inscription (with some minor errors), as it could be read in 1887|Drawing of the Lucius Artorius Castus inscription from Podstrana, as read (with minor errors) by professor Frane Bulić in the late 1880s (source: T. G. Jackson, "Dalmatia, the Quarnero and Istria", Oxford, 1887, pp. 167)]] What little is known of Lucius Artorius Castus comes from inscriptions on fragments of a sarcophagus, and a memorial plaque, found in Podstrana, on the Dalmatian coast in Croatia. Although the inscriptions cannot be precisely dated, Castus probably served in the Roman army some time between the mid-late 2nd century AD or early to mid-3rd century AD.Gilliam, J. Frank. "The Dux Ripae at Dura", Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 72, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1941, p. 163. The first inscription The memorial inscription, which was broken into two pieces at some point prior to the 19th century and set into the wall of the Church of St Martin in Podstrana, Croatia, reads (note that "7" is a rendering of the symbol used by scribes to represent the word centurio; ligatured letters are indicated with underlines): D...............................M L ARTORI[.........]STVS 7 LEG III GALLICAE ITE[....]G VI FERRA TAE ITEM 7 LEG II AD[....]TEM 7 LEG V M C ITEM P P EIVSDEM [...] PRAEPOSITO CLASSIS MISENATIVM [..]AEFF LEG VI VICTRICIS DVCI LEGG [...]M BRITANICI MIARVM ADVERSVS ARM[....]S PROC CENTE NARIO PROVINCIAE LI[....] GLADI VI VVS IPSE SIBI ET SVIS [....]T[...] Manfred Clauss of the Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss-Slaby (EDCS), following the readings and expansions provided in CIL 03, 01919; CIL 03, 08513; CIL 03, 12813; Dessau 2770; IDRE-02, 303; BritRom-07, 00001; JIES-2019-432 expands the text as: D(is) M(anibus) / L(ucius) Artori[us Ca]stus |(centurio) leg(ionis) / III Gallicae item [|(centurio) le]g(ionis) VI Ferra/tae item |(centurio) leg(ionis) II Adi[utr(icis) i]tem |(centurio) leg(ionis) V M(a)/c(edonicae) item p(rimus) p(ilus) eiusdem [leg(ionis?)] praeposito(!) / classis Misenatium [pr]aef{f}(ectus) leg(ionis) VI / Victricis duci(!) legg[ionu]m Britan(n)ici/{mi}a(no)rum adversus Arm[3]s proc(uratori) cente/nario(!) provinciae Li[b(urniae?) iure] gladi(i) vi/vus ipse sibi et suis [posu]it Hans-Georg Pflaum offered a slightly different expansion: D(is) M(anibus) L(ucius) Artori[us Ca]stus (centurio) leg(ionis) III Gallicae item [(centurio) le]g(ionis) VI Ferratae item (centurio)