The Inscription of Ligurius and Victorina

The Inscription of Ligurius and Victorina

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
First Half of the Fourth Century A.D.
Dating criteria
palaeography, onomastics

Autopsy

Institution
Location within museum
storage facilities
Date of observation
2024

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Type
Frontal panel of the sarcophagus.
Material(s)
Limestone.
Execution
Inscribed.
Dimensions
26 × 105 × 10 cm
Epigraphic Field
26 × 105 cm
Letters Height
4-6.5 cm

Palaeographic comment

Dextrograde direction; horizontal alignment; vertical module; regular ductus, centred layout.

F with a middle stroke shorter than the upper arm.

G lacking a vertical stem and with a tail extending below the baseline.

Inscribed front panel of a limestone sarcophagus
The iscription of Ligurius and Victorina. 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

LID:

D(is) M(anibus)

CHEST:

F(lavius?) Ligurius et C{r}ic<r>ia Victorina vi⸢v⸣⸢i⸣ s⸢i⸣bi posuerunt.

APPARATUS CRITICUS

3. SIBI, Bertolini 1877 .

TRANSLATION

To the Manes gods.

Flavius Ligurius and Cicria Victorina, while still alive, arranged (the sarcophagus) for themselves.

COMMENTARY

According to Lettich (Lettich 1983, 103, n. 73), Cricia could be a form derived from Cicria. However, this inscription appears to be the only attestation of the nomen Cricia in the entire empire, whereas the gens Cicria is well attested at Concordia.

It therefore seems more likely that the nomen recorded in the inscription is a scribal error, especially considering that in line 2 the final two letters of the word vivi were also inverted. Victorina would thus have belonged to the Cicrii family, despite the fact that her burial is located further west than the group of other sarcophagi belonging to this family.

PEOPLE

Flavius Ligurius

NOMEN
Flavius
COGNOMEN
Ligurius
GENS
Flavia
ORIGIN (of the name Ligurius)
latin
GENDER
male
OCCUPATION
civilian
ROLE
dedicator/deceased
RELATIONSHIP
husband (→ Cicria Victorina)

Cicria Victorina

NOMEN
Cicria
COGNOMEN
Victorina
GENS
Cicria
ORIGIN (of the name Victorina)
latin
GENDER
female
OCCUPATION
civilian
ROLE
dedicator/deceased
RELATIONSHIP
wife (→ Flavius Ligurius)

Bibliography

Bertolini 1877, 120, n. 1.
CIL V 8988b
Lettich 1983, 103, n. 73.
EDR
EDR097932
Author of the record:
Damiana Baldassarra
Date:
30-11-2007