The Inscription of Ursus and ?

The Inscription of Ursus and ?

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
Mid-Fourth Century AD.
Dating criteria
palaeography, onomastics, textual/linguistic content

Autopsy

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

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Type
Sarcophagus tablet.
Material(s)
Limestone.
Execution
Inscribed.
Dimensions
49 × 59.5 cm
Epigraphic Field
47 × 54 cm
Letters Height
3.5-5 cm

Palaeographic comment

Dextrograde direction, horizontal orientation, vertical scale, and irregular ductus; left-aligned layout.

Inscription extremely difficult to read.

Inscribed front panel of a limestone sarcophagus
The iscription of Ursus and ?. 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

Ursus con = paravit (!) arca<m> sibi et incomparabili co<n>iugi [---]. Si qui<s> eam aperire voluerit, dabit fisco ar = genti pondo decem.

APPARATUS CRITICUS

1. CICRIVS, Bertolini 1876b, . 3. [---] CONIVGI, Bertolini 1876b, Bertolini 1877, . 4. [---]O, Bertolini 1876b, Bertolini 1877, Bertolini 1878 . 5. [---] APERIRE, Bertolini 1876b, Bertolini 1877, CIL V 8685, Bertolini 1878 . 6-7. VOLVERIT [---]/[---], Bertolini 1876b, CIL V 8685; VOLVERIT [---]/GENTI PONDO DECEM, Bertolini 1877; VOLVERIT [---]FAR/GENTI PONDO DECEM, Bertolini 1878 .

TRANSLATION

Cocceius Ursus purchased the sarcophagus for himself and for his incomparable spouse [---].

If anyone wishes to open it, he shall pay ten (roman) pounds of silver to the fiscus.

COMMENTARY

Cocceius Ursus commissioned the sarcophagus at his own expense for himself and his wife, whose name is illegible. Anyone who opened the sarcophagus would have to pay ten pounds of silver to the fiscus.

According to Lettich, this is the same Cocceius who buried his wife Decentia south of the road (Lettich 1983, 100; The Epigraphy of Ursus and Decentia). Cocceius, having outlived his first wife, would have remarried. This is not a unique case: Lettich cites the example of Romulianus, who was also widowed and remarried (Lettich 1983, 100).

PEOPLE

Cocceius Ursus

NOMEN
Cocceius
COGNOMEN
Ursus
GENS
Cocceia
ORIGIN (of the name Ursus)
greek
GENDER
male
OCCUPATION
civilian
ROLE
dedicator/deceased
RELATIONSHIP
husband (→ ?)

?

COGNOMEN
?
GENDER
female
OCCUPATION
civilian
ROLE
deceased
RELATIONSHIP
wife (→ Cocceius Ursus)

Bibliography

Bertolini 1876b, 131, n. 4.
Bertolini 1877, 35, n. 46.
Bertolini 1878, 48.
CIL V 8685
Lettich 1983, 99-100, n. 64.
EDR
EDR097845
Author of the record:
Damiana Baldassarra
Date:
19-11-2007 29-04-2009