The Inscription of Sabina and Paccianus

The Inscription of Sabina and Paccianus

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
Third Century A.D.
Dating criteria
palaeography, onomastics, textual/linguistic content

Autopsy

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

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Type
Frontal tablet of the sarcophagus.
Material(s)
Limestone.
Execution
Inscribed.
Dimensions
57 × 97 cm
Epigraphic Field
38 × 78 cm
Letters Height
6,5 cm

Palaeographic comment

Dextrograde direction; horizontal alignment; the first two lines are the most carefully executed: square module, with the presence of thick and thin strokes creating a chiaroscuro effect, while in the subsequent lines, the incision is shallower and the letters display a more laterally compressed module; regular ductus, centred layout.

Inscribed front panel of a limestone sarcophagus
The iscription of Sabina and Paccianus. 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

D(is) M(anibus) Cusica Sabin[a] sibi et Ennio Pac = ciano, con[iu]gi dulcissim[o], vi = va posu[it]

APPARATUS CRITICUS

5. DVLCI[S]SIM[O], Bertolini 1877 .

TRANSLATION

To the Manes gods.

Cusica Sabina, while still alive, arranged (the sarcophagus) for herself and for Ennius Paccianus, her most affectionate husband.

COMMENTARY

The gentilicum Cusicus/Cusica derives from Cusius and may have been formed either through the addition of the Celtic suffix -igo (Pellegrini 1975, 185–187) or through the suffix -ikos, which is typically Venetic (Desinan 1990, 128).

Paccianus derives from the gentilicum Paccius and is not otherwise attested at Concordia.

The gentilicum Ennius, by contrast, is well attested in the city from the Late Republican period onwards.

PEOPLE

Cusica Sabina

NOMEN
Cusica
COGNOMEN
Sabina
GENS
Cusica
ORIGIN (of the name Sabina)
latin
GENDER
female
OCCUPATION
civilian
ROLE
dedicator/deceased
RELATIONSHIP
wife (→ Ennius Paccianus)

Ennius Paccianus

NOMEN
Ennius
COGNOMEN
Paccianus
GENS
Ennia
ORIGIN (of the name Paccianus)
latin
GENDER
male
OCCUPATION
civilian
ROLE
deceased
RELATIONSHIP
husband (→ Cusica Sabina)

Bibliography

Bertolini 1877, 120, n. 4.
CIL V 8988a
Pellegrini 1975, 186.
Lettich 1994, 255-256, n. 171.
EDR
EDR097931
Author of the record:
Damiana Baldassarra
Date:
23-07-2008