ISic000278: Burial of a lightning strike

ID
ISic000278
Language
Latin
Text type
ritual dedication
Object type
plaque
Status
No data
Links
View in current site

Edition

Loading...

Apparatus criticus

  • Text of Gualtherus;
  • 2: Neither Caietanus nor Torremuzza based on Caietanus record the ligature

Physical description

Support

Description
Described as a 'tabula', 1 foot long by 3/4 foot wide
Object type
plaque
Material
stone
Condition
No data
Dimensions
height: cm, width: cm, depth: cm

Inscription

Layout
No data
Text condition
No data
Letter heights
Line 1: mm
Interlinear heights
Interlineation line 1 to 2: mm

Provenance

Place of origin
Tauromenium
Provenance found
Described in the 16th century as found in an underground oven or kiln in Taormina; subsequent descriptions assigning it to Palermo suggest that it was moved there, before being lost.

Current location

lost

Date

Roman (100 BC – AD 300)
Evidence
No data

Text type

ritual dedication

commentary

The text is recorded in a number of late 16th century / early 17th century antiquarians (Caietanus [d.1620, but published posthumously in 1707], Agustin, Pinelli). It is unclear if any actually saw it apart possibly from Caietanus, who describes the text as found at Taormina, whereas the others record it, seemingly via Roisius, as among the lost inscriptions in Palermo. This leads to a doublet in Torremuzza, recording the same text twice, once from Panormus and once from Taormina. Note that Mommsen speculated that the unintelligible CIL X.2.7015 from Catania might be a second example from Sicily of such a fulgur conditum text, marking the ritual burying of the ashes of a lightning strike.

Bibliography

Digital editions
Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
8/1/2024