ISic000178: Funerary inscription for M. Granius Dexter erected by his wife Cestia Pulchella

I.Sicily with the permission of the Assessorato Regionale dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana - Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana; photo J. Prag 2018-07-10
ID
ISic000178
Language
Latin
Text type
funerary
Object type
plaque
Status
No data
Links
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Edition

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Apparatus criticus

  • Text from autopsy

Physical description

Support

Description
Thick plaque of white marble with orange discolouration on sides. Left and top sides are intact, but with chipping along top edge. Bottom right corner is broken. Tapered rear, more protruding at top. Strong traces of pigment in the letters.
Object type
plaque
Material
marble
Condition
No data
Dimensions
height: 28 cm, width: 31.5 cm, depth: 12-17 cm

Inscription

Layout
4 lines of Latin letters, centred on the upper half of the stone and fitted tightly to the left and right borders, with large vacat at bottom of stone.
Text condition
No data
Lettering

Letter heights
Lines 1-2: 32-40mm
Lines 3-4: 23mm
Interlinear heights
Interlineation line 1 to 2: mm

Provenance

Place of origin
Thermae Himeraeae
Provenance found
The place, date, and circumstances of the discovery are unknown

Current location

Place
Termini Imerese, Italy
Repository
Museo Civico Baldassare Romano , 107
Autopsy
Antoniou, 2022-07-06. On display in Museo Civico Baldassare Romano
Map

Date

imperial (AD 1 – AD 300)
Evidence
No data

Text type

funerary

commentary

Cestiae are relatively common in Thermae Himeraeae. Roman citizens of tribe Quirina are attested elsewhere in Thermae Himeraeae, and this tribus is predominant in Sicily (see Prag, 2010). Bivona (1994) hypothesizes an African origin of M. Granius Dexter, and posits that the small letters squeezed into the end of line 2 are a later addition, perhaps added after Dexter's death (this is plausible, based upon the presence of the large interpunct after Dextro). Bivona also suggests on palaeographical grounds that lines 3-4 are different in character, and are less rigid, but this is not apparent after autopsy, where the difference in size seems a more plausible explanation (NB compare the variation in 'T' in lines 3 and 4).

Bibliography

Digital editions
Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
7/24/2025