DEPOSITIO—DEPOSITUS. — Depono, in literary texts already from the 3rd century, assumed the sense of "to bury in a tomb, to inter," but always in connection with the place of burial; used absolutely it begins to appear only in the 4th century.
At that time the term *depositio* also arises in popular usage. This use occurs occasionally even among pagans, and later in literary as well as epigraphic texts, especially poetic ones, e.g., *depositus p(edibus) XII in vascello* (CIL, VI, 3428).
In Christian epigraphy the two terms (it is difficult to distinguish which of the two is used because they are mostly abbreviated as DP., DEP., etc.) often appear used absolutely as early as the second half of the 3rd century, e.g., in the epitaph of St. Hyacinth. Thereafter, in the 4th and 5th centuries, they become very frequent in Rome, remaining rather rare elsewhere in Italy and the West.
In the context of the few pagan examples, the sense seems to be that of *depono* = "I lay down, place." In Christian usage one may rather sense the particular meaning of *depono* = "I put aside, store, deposit," as of a thing to be taken up again. The fact is that these two terms used absolutely are characteristic of Christian epigraphy. In general it is difficult to decide whether with them is indicated the specific fact of burial or rather that of death. It seems, since in ordinary cases the day of death and burial was the same, that from this came the use of indicating the date of death with the term *depositio*.
Noteworthy is the use of *depositio*, especially in Africa, when referring to the placement of relics in an altar, as in the famous example of Maestri: *deposito cororis sanctorum martyrum qui sunt passi sub preside Floro in civitate Mlevitana* (CIL, VIII, 6700 and 1933).
The corresponding Greek terms are *καταιθυμία* and *καταθυμία*, of which the same may be said as of the Latin ones.