ISic001082: I.Sicily inscription 001082

Photo J. Prag, courtesy Museo Archeologico Regionale P. Griffo, Agrigento

Edition

Description: Small limestone altar, intact, but with damage to the upper right, subsequently reattached. Mouldings top and bottom on three sides, but the rear is plain. On top a raised rectangular moulding surrounding a deeper recess. The upper moulding on the front face has dentils and incised decoration on its upper part. The epigraphic field on the front face (H 7.5 cm, W 13.5 cm) has a raised border below, left and right, bounded instead on the upper edge by the dentils of the upper moulding.
Object type: altar
Material: limestone
Condition: No data
Dimensions: height: 15.5 cm, width: 17 cm, depth: 12 cm

Layout: Four lines of Greek letters, all crudely incised in the epigraphic field on the front face.
Text condition: No data
Technique: chiselled
Pigment: No data
Lettering: The first two lines are deeply incised, the second two very lightly incised. Alpha has straight bar, with an apex; epsilon has equal length horizontals; mu in line 3 has extended apices, in anticipation of the cursive form; omicron is circular in lines 1 and 3, angular (made up of straight lines) in lines 3 and 4; sigma is and open four bar sigma in lines 1-2, a quadrate lunate sigma in lines 3-4; phi has a small elongated eye; omega is open in lines 1-2, lunate in line 4. It is therefore likely that lines 1-2 were incised by a different hand from lines 3-4.
Letter heights: Line 1: 6-15mm; Line 2: 9-16mm; Line 3: 5-8mm; Line 4: 6-14mm
Interlinear heights: Interlineation line 1 to 2: 9-12mm; Interlineation line 2 to 3: 5-9mm; Interlineation line 3 to 4: 2-5mm

Potentially lines 1-2 (Hellenistic) predate lines 3-4 (late Hellenistic or Roman) by a century or two. (200 BC - AD 200)

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Editor

Jonathan Prag

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Jonathan Prag

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Last revision

1/19/2021