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STONE MONUMENTS FROM PULA AND THE SURROUNDING AREA - 2005
Alka Starac
; Arheološki muzej Istre Carrarina 3, 52100 Pula, HR
Sažetak
SUMMARY
STONE MONUMENTS FROM PULA AND THE
SURROUNDING AREA - 2005
Alka STARAC
Towards the end of 2005, a considerable number of inscriptions that had previously been
unknown to experts became a constituent part of the collection of epigraphic monuments
from Pula and the surrounding area. Numerous fragments belonging to limestone monuments
were found in the walls of a catering establishment and in the yard of a house in Monte
Serpente, Pula. The fragments were registered as mobile cultural assets. A fragment of a
cornice with dentils and rounded ovals (fig. 4) was found built into a wall on private property.
Moreover, three other fragments were found that bear inscriptions. The first fragment is
the upper part of an architectonic stele in limestone with smooth pilasters and Corinthian
capitals bearing the inscription C(aius) Lindiu[s] / [- - -] (fig. 1). A possible reconstruction
of the beginning of the second line is, C(ai) [l(ibertus)], followed by cognomen. The type of
stele and the special quality of the decoration are indications that the artefact may be dated
to the first half or middle of the 1st century AD. The second fragment is the right side of a
limestone altar bearing the inscription [- - -]claniae / [- - -]inae (fig. 2). The nomen may be
Fidiclania, as indicated by an earlier find of a monument mentioning a homonymous aedile
and a duoviri official of the colony of Pola. The third fragment also in limestone (fig. 3) bears
the inscription P(ublio) Sarioleno / Rufo frat(ri). The symmetry of the letters and the absence
of filiation indicate that the monument may be dated to the 2nd century AD.
An unfinished sarcophagus in limestone with no inscriptions (fig. 5) was also found on a
private piece of property. Judging from the typical side volutes of the inscription plate,
the sarcophagus can be dated to 3rd century AD. Other monuments found on private property are: three fragments of a cornice (fig. 6, 7, 10), a door post (fig. 12), a block with
a moulding on two opposite sides (fig. 11), a block with a cavity (fig. 9) and two column
fragments (fig. 8, 13). Four monuments were brought to the park of the Archaeological
Museum of Istria on the same day. The first one is a limestone altar with a moulded base
and pulvini on the focus (fig. 14, 15, 16) D(is) M(anibus) / Sex(ti) Saccidi / Valenti / v(ixit)
a(nnos) XVIIII d(ies) I[I] / Saccidia Zosim[a] / et Ael(ius) Herme[s] / par(entes) / v(ivi) f(ecerunt).
The right lateral side bears relieves of a polyptych of wax tablets (codex ansatus) with a
string for hanging, a set of writing implements (stili) in a leather container with the open
lid, and a horizontally laid chisel (scalprum) at the bottom (fig. 16). The tablets and the
writing implements appear alongside an illustration of woodworkers’ tools, depicting
the profession of tradesman in construction material (CIL XI 1620). The shape of the
monument, the use of the DM formula, the onomastic patterns without filiation, and the
abbreviated nomen Ael(ius), indicate that the altar can be dated to the second or the last
third of the 2nd century AD. The second monument is a limestone altar with a moulded
base and focus and a much worn out inscription field. The lateral sides are smooth (fig. 17,
18). D(is) M(anibus) / P(ublio) Atilio Iusto / Licini[a ..]ro[ ..] / [co]iugi / - - - - - -. The family
name of Atilius was recorded in Istria for the first time. On the other hand, the family
name of Licinia had been registered on steles of the first generations of the colonists of
Pola (IIt X/1 241, 314). In the second quarter of the 1st century BC client-like relations
were established between the inhabitants of Istria and the senatorial dynasty of Licinii by
way of establishing large pieces of property, which bond proved to be a firm one in the
course of the whole of the 1st century AD. The altar can be dated to the second or last
third of the 2nd century AD. The third monument is a limestone traverse with a double
meander on the front side. It was probably a constituent element of an elaborate funerary
monument of considerable dimensions dated to the 1st century AD (fig. 19). The fourth
monument is a two-sided moulded cornice in limestone (fig. 20).
In November 2005, the Archaeological Museum of Istria acquired for its collection a
rectangular pillar made of grey Bardiglio marble bearing an inscription and engraved
Greek crosses. The artefact was found near the church of St. Mauro in the vicinity of
Galižana. The original votive inscription is completely preserved: Veneri / d(onum) d(edit) /
C(aius) Caeparius / Ursio (fig. 21). At a later phase of decoration, two crosses were engraved
above and below the inscription. The arms of the cross engraved above the inscription
are of equal length (the Greek cross), while the one engraved below the inscription has a
slightly longer lower part of the vertical arm (the Latin cross). There is a cross with both
arms of equal length incised in the back of the monument (fig. 22). The lateral sides of
the pillar are bordered with a straight and a curving decorative relief strip, and the same is
the case with the inscription field. Judging by its shape and ornaments, the column may
have been a constituent part of a more elaborate architectonic construction dedicated to
Venus. The symmetry of the letters and the absence of filiation in the name of the donor
indicate that the monument may be dated to the 2nd century AD.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
40944
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.11.2007.
Posjeta: 2.266 *