ISic004372: Fragment of an imperial honorific

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 L. Campagna 2005-03-31
ID
ISic004372
Language
Latin
Text type
Honorific
Object type
plaque
Status
No data
Links
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Edition

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Apparatus criticus

  • Text from photograph;
  • 1: Manganaro: [Divae A]ug(ustae) [---]
  • 2: Manganaro: [Lucil]lae
  • 3: Manganaro: [Tauromenit]ani

Physical description

Support

Description
Eight joining fragments of the upper right corner of a marble plaque, broken on the left and below (only seven fragments were seen by Manganaro). The other side of the plaque bears a similar text, a dedication to Domitia wife of Domitian (same support as ).
Object type
plaque
Material
marble
Condition
fragments, contiguous
Dimensions
height: 48 cm, width: 32 cm, depth: 2 cm

Inscription

Layout
No data
Text condition
incomplete
Letter heights
Lines 1-3: 90mm
Interlinear heights
Interlineation line 1 to 2: mm

Provenance

Place of origin
Tauromenium
Provenance found
First recorded by Manganaro in storage at the antiquarium prior to 1964.

Current location

Place
Taormina, Italy
Repository
Antiquarium del Teatro Antico
Autopsy
None
Map

Date

Assuming Manganaro's hypothesis that this side is secondary is correct, this text post-dates 96 CE. Attribution to Lucilla would date this to 164-168/9 CE. (AD 96 – AD 169)
Evidence
prosopography

Text type

Honorific

commentary

Manganaro's text cannot stand, firstly as there is clearly no missing text at the end of line 1, and secondly because an upright, presumably an 'I' (although H or N would also be possible) is clearly visible at the start of line 3, making the exempli gratia restoration of Tauromenitani impossible. Parallels for dedications to the Diva Lucilla are hard to find, and the sequence here with AVG before Lucilla (assuming [--]lae is Lucilla) would suggest a dedication to e.g. either one or more of her brothers and herself (compare IRT0025), or one or her children, or some other such familial combination in which she does not appear first. However, it should also be noted that other imperial female names from the first century CE could fit here too, such as Drusilla and Domitilla, and the palaeography makes it far from certain that this face is later than the other side.

Bibliography

Digital editions
  • TM: -
  • EDR: -
  • EDH: -
  • EDCS: -
  • PHI: -
Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
8/13/2024