Support: Block of sandstone; broken away at both right corners and at upper rim at right (w: 1.10 × h: 0.60 × d: 0.36).

Layout: Inscribed on the oblong face in four lines, the last one being nearly completely erased.

Letters: 0.065; letters cut so close to one another that they are often in contact; broken-bar alpha, diamond-shaped theta and omicron, square sigma.

Date: Probably second century AD (lettering).

Findspot: Found before 1935 at Taucheira ➚, in the old Turkish village, re-used in the precinct-wall of the old and already derelict Zawia.

Place of origin: Taucheira ➚, presumably from the Necropolis.

Last recorded location: Never found since first publication..

Text constituted from: Transcription from previous editors.

Apparatus

French translation

Ici [repose] sous la terre Lo[ukianos? ---],

qui l'emporta sur chacun par sa piété et en actes de vertu.

English translation

Here [lays] under the earth Lo[ukianos? ---],

who prevailed over everyone through piety and in acts of valour.

Italian translation

Qui [giace] sotto terra Lo[ukianos? ---],

che vinse su tutti per la pietà e le azioni virtuose.

Commentary

Line 1. The name Loukianos, proposed by Peek, is largely restored; however it seems a good guess, meeting the needs of both the rhythm and the two letters preserved at the beginning. As shown by Oliverio's photograph, the stone was already broken off at the time of the first edition so that the line was lost after Λο. Whatever its position, the verb κεῖται is a must. Conversely it seems hazardous to follow Peek's restoration for the word 'Libya' that would normally apply only to a foreigner dead in that region: for such a status we have no clue.

At line 2, πᾶν may be, as Peek supposes, a later form of the accusative masculine (so translated 'over everyone'); alternatively, if the traditional neuter, it might perhaps be understood as 'over everything'.

On the whole, Peek's restorations at lines 1 and 2 exceed the length covered by line 3, which corresponds to the modern condition of the stone. As this has been reused, we may admit that it has been recut and that line 3 was not fully inscribed. Anyway, it seems difficult to fill two hexameters with only the preserved dimensions of the block. The 4th line being fully deleted (perhaps an epsilon about the middle), we cannot even know whether this was the continuation of a metrical text.

An ancient print of the photograph had been sent by J.M. Reynolds to W. Peek and is kept in the archive of Peek Nachlass at Berlin. We thank Kl. Hallof for providing an excellent digitized copy.

Metrical analysis: Peek's restoring two dactylic hexameters seems the best solution, as the remnant segments of verse-line 2 exclude a pentameter.

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All citation, reuse or distribution of this work must contain a link back to DOI: https://doi.org/10.60760/unibo/igcyrgvcyr2 and the filename (IGCyr000000 or GVCyr000), as well as the year of consultation.

Images

Fig. 1. Face of gvcyr020 Epitaph of Lo[ukianos?]

Maps