The Inscription of Flavia Concordia

The Inscription of Flavia Concordia

INSCRIPTION DETAILS

Findspot and Place of Origin

Country
Italy
Region
Veneto
Ancient Region
Regio X Venetia et Histria
City
Concordia Sagittaria
Ancient City

Chronology

Date of the inscription

Date
Second half of the fourth century A.D.
Dating criteria
palaeography, onomastics

Autopsy

Institution
Location within museum
set into the wall of the right nave
Date of observation
2024

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Type
Frontal slab of the sarcophagus.
Material(s)
Limestone.
Execution
Inscribed.
Dimensions
47 × 78 cm
Epigraphic Field
47 × 78 cm
Letters Height
5-6 cm

Palaeographic comment

Dextrograde direction, vertical module, regular ductus, triangular punctuation, groove shallower near the right margin.

According to Bertolini, the inscription would be “among the most perfect and, in every respect, flawless, considering the period.”

In reality, the difficulty of the lapidary in arranging the text is evident, as shown by the irregular module: letters near the right margin are more compressed laterally.

The letter A sometimes shows a broken median stroke; E and F are laterally compressed, each with three short arms; the only distinguishing feature of the letters is the upper arm, which in F is longer than in the others and oblique, rising to the right.

M consists of four oblique strokes.

N has vertical side strokes.

Inscribed front panel of a limestone sarcophagus
The iscription of Flavia Concordia. Museo Nazionale Concordiese, Portogruaro; photo by Ortolf Harl (Ubi Erat Lupa). Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture - Regional Directorate of National Museums of Veneto. Any commercial or for-profit use of these images is strictly prohibited and must be subject to a specific authorization request to the Regional Directorate of National Museums of Veneto.

INSCRIPTION

INTERPRETATIVE TRANSCRIPTION

Fl(avia) Concordia de pr = oprio suo arcam sibi posuit Si quis eam aperi = re voluerit dabit fis = ci viribus argen = ti libras decem

APPARATUS CRITICUS

TRANSLATION

Flavia Concordia placed a coffin (or sarcophagus) for herself from her own property.

If anyone wishes to open it, he/she will pay ten Roman pounds of silver to the fiscus (treasury).

COMMENTARY

The cognomen Concordia is also attested in an inscription from the third century A.D., discovered in the Persico estate in 1893. According to Lettich, the use of a toponym as a personal name is not unusual, citing the example of the burial of Aurelia Alexandria, located only a few metres north of the sarcophagus of Flavia Concordia.

PEOPLE

Flavia Concordia

NOMEN
Flavia
COGNOMEN
Concordia
GENS
Flavia
ORIGIN (of the name Concordia)
latin
GENDER
female
OCCUPATION
civilian
ROLE
dedicator/deceased

Bibliography

Bertolini 1874a, 25, nr. 12.
Bertolini 1874b, 296, nr. 27.
CIL V 8763
ILCV 818 B
Lettich 1983, 102, nr. 69.
EDR
EDR097911
Author of the record:
Damiana Baldassarra
Date:
26-11-2007