AWG0000.03.08
Roman, Roman period; Roman Imperial (1st-3rd cent. CE)
Material: Marble
Weight: 463g
Dimensions: 6.6cm high, 18.8cm wide, 1.8cm thick
Condition: Good, though cut for re-use. Patches of mortar adhere to the back surface. The bottom left corner is chipped.
Provenance: Unknown
Source/donor: Unknown
Date of acquisition: Unknown
Research by: William Hunt, ’23
Detailed description of form/shape:
Irregular pentagon shape, with all sides/edges cut smooth and polished. The back has speckles of mortar.
Comparanda:
A marble funerary inscription in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (X.248.1) dated in the 1st - 3rd century CE provides close parallels both for the serif-style lettering and the triangular word-break marks.
Discussion:
This piece contains several legible letters: NIS - SIM, with a triangular-shaped word break symbol (interpunct) between them. These letters have serifs at the tops and bottoms. The fact that the fragment has been smoothed down on all sides indicates that it was cut for re-use, perhaps as part of an opus sectile pavement. Its original function was most likely funerary, like the example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art noted above. More than 75% of all known Latin inscriptions are funerary.
Bibliography:
Bruun, Christer, and J. C. Edmondson. The Oxford Handbook of Roman Epigraphy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Gordon, Arthur E. Illustrated Introduction to Latin Epigraphy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
Keppie, L. J. F. Understanding Roman Inscriptions. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.
The Met. Marble plaque with funerary inscription. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/256771