ISic001686: Fragment of an honorific

I.Sicily with the permission of the Assessorato Regionale dei Beni Culturali e dell鈥橧dentit脿 Siciliana - Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell鈥橧dentit脿 Siciliana; photo J. Prag 2016-10-10
ID
ISic001686
Language
Latin
Text type
honorific
Object type
plaque
Status
edited
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Apparatus criticus

  • Text from autopsy;
  • 1: Orsi: [impera]tori; but the trace before the T is not compatible with A, and more like the foot of L, E, or C; or possibly the base of a squat S.

Physical description

Support

Description
Large slab of white crystalline marble. Intact top and left, but broken on right and below. Left edge only roughly finished; top edge neatly finished. Circular hole drilled in middle of the top edge, and on the right side there is a clamp hole. Reverse side has brown discolouration / encrustation, the front is clean. A second text on the other side, the clamp holes and letter forms imply this is the secondary text, the text on the other side the primary.
Object type
plaque
Material
marble
Condition
fragment
Dimensions
height: 24.4 cm,聽width: 32.7 cm,聽depth: 3.3-4.6 cm

Inscription

Layout
Three lines of Latin letters, the first two with a consistent right margin, the third finishing much shorter, and a clear vacat below (up to c.50 mm) suggesting any fourth line significantly shorter. Lines 2 and 3 have guidelines along the upper edge of the line.
Text condition
incomplete
Technique
chiselled
Pigment
No data
Lettering

Somewhat crudely v-cut letters of rather stocky form, with simple serifs. P is open, R closed with straight tail. G has a very curved hook. A simple dash form interpunct at end of line 2, but not between the abbreviations in line 2.

Letter heights
Line 1: 51-55mm
Line 2: 51-55mm
Line 3: 50mm
Interlinear heights
Interlineation line 1 to 2: 4-7mm
Interlineation line 2 to 3: 7mm

Provenance

Place of origin
Syracusae
Provenance found
Found in the area of S. Lucia, July 1917, acquired by Orsi for the museum on 6 August 1917.
Map

Current location

Place
Siracusa, Italy
Repository
Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi , 38617
Autopsy
Prag 2016-10-10, Magazzino B, cassa 33.
Map

Date

after 116 CE (if Manganaro's restoration of the text on the other side is accepted); 2nd or 3rd century CE. (Unknown - Unknown)
Evidence
No data

Text type

honorific

commentary

Manganaro (Epigraphica 1989, p.181, no. 59) published the text on the other side (ISic000726) without noting the existence of this text on the reverse, published by Orsi. The reading of "[Impera]tori proposed by Orsi does not seem compatible with the traces on the stone. Another title such as "quaestori" or "praetori" seems most likely, in which case one might imagine something like "[flamini] per(petuo) Aug(usti)" for the end of the second line, and this is then an honorific for someone holding civic, and possible imperial, offices, but surely not an imperial honorific.

Bibliography

Digital editions
Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
10/16/2024