980. Funerary inscription
- Description:
- Double stele (w: 0.45 x h: 1.87 x d: 0.45) of coarse brown limestone, culminating in two triangular points, inscribed on one face within two adjacent moulded panels (each w: 0.16 x h: 0.38). On the right side of the stele is a lightly incised rectangle with the upper short end rounded, and above it, slightly to the left, a crude disc in relief; above this, and appearing to stand on the top of the stele, an 8-spoked wheel in high relief. On the left side, opposite the wheel, is a funerary urn in high relief.
- Text:
- Inscribed on one face within two adjacent moulded panels, with one line of the left-hand text being cut below its panel.
- Letters:
- Irregular late capitals: (a) l. 1, 0.04; l. 2, 0.047; l. 3, 0.049; l. 4, 0.05; ll. 5-7, 0.04; l. 8, 0.055. (b) l. 1, 0.035; ll. 2-5, 0.04; l. 6, 0.036; l. 7, 0.04.
- Date:
- No indication
- Findspot:
- Lepcis Magna: East gate; Found 1953 by Mr. John Cassels within the circuit of the first century wall, near the presumed site of the gate, at a depth of c. 5 ft.
- Original Location:
- Unknown
- Last recorded location:
- Lepcis Museum. .
- Bibliography:
- Not previously published. This edition taken from J. M. Reynolds, 'Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania: A Supplement', Proceedings of the British School at Rome 23 (1955), 124-147, no. S.8.
- Text constituted from:
- Transcription (Reynolds)
a.4, sic
a.7, sic
b.4, sic
Translation:
a Sacred to the gods below; Claudius Stiddin had the monument made in his lifetime for his descendants.
b Sacred to the gods below; Claudius Ladas had the monument made in his life time (for himself) and for his descendants.
Commentary:
a.1, b.1: . A rare order for the words of this formula; see also, however, CIL VIII, 3828.
Both cognomina appear to be of Libyan origin. For Stiddin see also 219, 236, 875, and, probably, 892, and 988; Ladas is not otherwise known. The initial letters of the name read as Stiddin are cut as S with crossbar. This letter-form has been found in a number of Latino-Libyan inscriptions in Tripolitania and has sometimes been read as F, more recently as Z (see R. Goodchild, 'The Latino-Libyan Inscriptions of Tripolitania', The Antiquaries Journal, (1950) 137). Here S with crossbar is clearly distinguished from F; and since there can be little doubt that the name intended is Stiddin (as also in 892, where the initial letters are also written as S with crossbar) it would seem reasonable to suppose that the form regularly represents ST in ligature.
- Photographs:
- none.
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