ISic000418: Fragment of a monumental Latin inscription

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 2019-10-01
ID
ISic000418
Language
Latin
Text type
unknown
Object type
plaque
Status
No data
Links
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Edition

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Apparatus criticus

  • text from autopsy;
  • 1: Schubring, Mommsen: .EF

Physical description

Support

Description
Fragment of a marble plaque, broken on all sides, with the trace of a moulding on along the broken lower edge. The reverse was subsequently re-used for another inscription .
Object type
plaque
Material
marble
Condition
fragment
Dimensions
height: 15 cm, width: 19.5 cm, depth: 4.2 cm

Inscription

Layout
A single line of monumental lettering preserved, with a vacat below to the moulding.
Text condition
incomplete
Lettering

Letter heights
Line 1: 110mm
Interlinear heights
Interlineation line 1 to 2: mm

Provenance

Place of origin
Syracusae
Provenance found
Schubring in his autopsy notes of 1865 (no.144) states that the piece was found in the area of the great altar of Hieron; Mommsen in CIL states that it was found by Serradifaclo among the ruins of the great altar (but does not reference the source for this claim). Found with ISic000417.

Current location

Place
Siracusa, Italy
Repository
Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi
Autopsy
Flavio Santini, 2018-09-19, Magazzino B, cassette 50
Map

Date

Roman Imperial, Nerva or descendants? (AD 96 – AD 209)
Evidence
No data

Text type

unknown

commentary

The angle of the left ascending stroke is visible on the initial letter trace, which can only be compatible with N. The third letter has a right descending arm, along the line of the break of the stone, which can only be compatible with a rather rigid/straight 'R'. The combination -]NER[- in a monumental text perhaps suggests the name Nerva (although Nero and forms of Venus are also possible, among other alternatives), which would suggest that this is part of a monumental building inscription associated with one of the emperors of the second century CE.

Bibliography

Digital editions
Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
6/28/2024