Original scientific paper
Epigraphic spolia from the Zvonimirova street in Solin
Dino Demicheli
; Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu Odsjek za arheologiju, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
The article describes eighteen epigraphic spolia that were found in 1992 in the town of Solin (Salona) during rescue archaeological excavations. These are funerary inscriptions and one votive inscription that were built into the eastern part of the Salonitan ramparts during the ancient period. According to the textual, linguistic, stylistic, onomastic and social analyses of the monuments, most of the inscriptions can be dated to the period after AD 170, i.e. the period when the city walls had been erected. The inscriptions mention nineteen persons who, belonged to the category of ordinary citizens and slaves, but there was indirectly concluded that there were several freedmen among the mentioned persons. Despite the relatively high number of inscriptions found so far in Dalmatia, and consequently a large number of known names, the Dalmatian onomastic corpus is supplemented every year with new names, therefore five new ones can be added from this group: two gentilicia (Aberius, Ammia) and three cognomina (Aiate, Callistianus, Thisbe), not including the cognomen Censorina which occurs for the first time in the female form. As for the tombstones, the relationship between the deceased and the commemorator is as follows: three monuments were erected for the children by their parents, two monuments were erected for the spouses, one or two monuments were erected by the slaves, one monument was erected by the son to the father, one monument perhaps the master raises for a slave, and on one monument the relationship between the deceased and the commemorator cannot be established due to damage.
The inscription dedicated to the god Priapus (cat. nr. 1) would be the most important inscription from this group, since we are informed from it about the existence and expansion of the sanctuary dedicated to this god. On one inscription (cat. nr. 7) the word vitricus (stepfather) was recorded for the first time in Dalmatia, which enriches the epigraphic lexicon of this province. Other monuments complement not only the population and onomastic picture but also the grade of literacy in Salona. Also, speaking of the context in which these monuments were found, the embedded tombstones confirm the practice of spoliation, carried out on several occasions during the ancient and late antique periods, which is best recorded in Salona in the survey of the city walls. Considering the current condition of the collected Salonitan monuments, it can be said that the city walls are also the largest epigraphic resource of Salona, because for their construction and restoration over the centuries it was necessary to use all available stone material. In this material were found monuments of various characters, from decorative and architectonic pieces, parts of sculptures to various types of inscriptions that were built not only from the outer faces of the ramparts, but also in their filling. New research into the city walls, which can be counted on for many more years to come, will no doubt yield a greater number of monuments which will continue the reconstruction of life and the population picture in the Roman Salona and Dalmatia.
Keywords
Solin; Salona; inscriptions; epigraphic spolia; ramparts; Priapus
Hrčak ID:
247204
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2020.
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