ISic002984: Inscription erected by Tettia, priestess of Ceres for her son

Apparatus criticus

Text based upon autopsy;
line.1: Manganaro: TI[---]; stone shows traces of cross stroke at base of vertical, compatible with e.g. E
line.5: Manganaro: Cereris [Aug(ustae) (?)]

Physical description

Support

Description: The left half of a marble plaque, broken diagonally down the middle from upper left to lower right. The surface has been engraved in relief with the form of a tabula ansata, with a triple moulding, the inscription set inside the frame. The edges are roughly finished, the rear not visible.
Object type: plaque
Material: marble
Object condition: fragment
Dimensions: height: 31 cm, width: 27 cm, depth: 3.5-4.0 cm

Inscription

Layout: Six lines of Latin letters, lines 1 and 3 (the start of each individual name) set hard against the left margin, lines 2, 4-6 consistently indented by approximately half a letter space. The inscription neatly fills the available field.
Text condition: legible
Technique: chiselled
Pigment: No data
Lettering: Clear v-cut letters, relatively short and broad, with modest serifs. Cross-strokes are faint, width of letters somewhat uneven; C, V, M notably broad; M has four sloping, full-length strokes; R is slightly open with extended tail; T has upward sloping / curved horizontal; deep triangular interpuncts.
Letter heights: Line 1: 24mm; Line 2-6: 22mm
Interlinear heights: Interlineation line 1 to 2: mm

Provenance

Place of origin: Enna
Provenance found: Found 'in localita Porto Salvo, non lungi dalla torre di Federico II' during military works in November 1942. Now on display in the Museo Varisano.
Map

Current location

Place: Enna, Sicilia
Repository: Museo Archeologico Varisano , 174
Autopsy: Autopsy by Prag 2026-02-04, on display in the Museum.
Map

Date

Julio-Claudian (Manganaro) (AD 14 - AD 68)

Evidence: lettering

Text type

funerary

commentary

The reading and proposed restorations of Manganaro are here broadly accepted, other than that in line 1, the base of the final surviving letter is visible and clearly compatible with E rather than I, which would allow e.g. Tettius, although clearly that is hardly a necessary reading, since the son would ordinarily be expected to have the father's name. The interpunct after the L in line 6 is clearly visible, and while other expansions are possible, the typical formulation LDDD is highly plausible, and fits well with the likely original width of the stone. Assuming nomen and filiation in line 1 (and theoretically also tribal), the cognomen in line 2 seems likely to have been followed by a further onomastic element. Tettia in line 3 is presumably followed by not only filiation but a second name. There is space in line four for sacerdos publica, although whether either element was partially abbreviated cannot be known for certain. Manganaro proposed Cereris Augustae in line 5, and although other epithets (or indeed another divinity) are possible, this is undoubtedly the most likely restoration, again with some degree of abbreviation likely.

Bibliography

Digital editions

Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor

Jonathan Prag

Principal contributor