ISic004426: Inscribed boundary stone

I.Sicily with the permission of the Assessorato Regionale dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana - Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana
ID
ISic004426
Language
Latin
Text type
terminus
Object type
stele
Status
No data
Links
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Edition

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Apparatus criticus

  • Text from Marini;
  • line.2: Mai, Pace, Ferrua: KAT

Physical description

Support

Description
Not directly described by Marini, but the use of 'item' after an initial description of a quadrangular column of volcanic stone, with reference to ISic004425, suggests the same form
Object type
stele
Material
volcanic
Condition
No data
Dimensions
height: cm, width: cm, depth: cm

Inscription

Layout
The text is recorded split over two lines
Text condition
No data
Lettering

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

Provenance

Place of origin
Paternò
Provenance found
The only record is in the manuscript collection of Gaetano Marini, whence later editions. Marini records it as being found in the 'ager Catinensis', in the locale known as 'le Timpe', and in his time preserved in front of the church of the village of Sferri
Map

Current location

Lost.

Date

5th century CE or later (?) (AD 401 – AD 700)
Evidence
No data

Text type

terminus

commentary

In contrast to other examples (ISic001338, ISic001404, ISic004424) the text of this inscription appears to be written clearly in Latin letters. Nonetheless the presence of variations on the formulation of E̅K̅L̅ KAT which is found also in those texts, and the broadly similar geographical area of origin, strongly suggest that this stone (and also ISic004425 and ISic004427 reportedtogether with this one by Marini) has a similar context, namely as a boundary stone relating to the lands of the early church in Sicily. Like Pace before him, Ferrua interpreted these in this way, and expands ECL as ecclesiae and KAT as Katinensis. This text, together with ISic004425 and ISic004427, is only reported by Gaetano Marini, and the texts in Angelo Mai, Pace, and Ferrua all derive directly from this one record. Pace understood Marini to refer to four sides of a single stone, but Ferrua more reasonably interprets the annotations of Marini to refer firstly to two sides of one stone (ISic004425: 'hinc', 'inde'); and then to two further separate texts (ISic004427: 'item altera inscripta') and in this case what appears to be 'item altera reperta in agro'. It is not impossible that this text and ISic004427 are in fact the same as the two recorded by Gualtherus (ISic001338 and ISicc4424), but the differences are sufficient to suggest not.

The date of the stone is very difficult to ascertain. If the interpretation suggested by Ferrua is adopted, making this one of several boundary markers for church property from the wider area of the Catania hinterland, then a date of the fifth century AD or later seems likely. It would be possible to accept the reading of KAT as refering to Catania, without accepting the need to interpret ECL or EKL as a reference to the church.

Bibliography

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

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
1/19/2021