Support: On the plinth of a limestone statue of kneeled ram, (w: 0.45).

Layout: Inscribed (?) on the plinth under the left side of the ram.

Letters: 0.08; slanting mu.

Date: Perhaps fourth century BC (lettering).

Findspot: Found before 1993 in a votive depot South of Cyrene ➚: in the area of the Wadi el Aish.

Place of origin: Cyrene ➚.

Last recorded location: Studied from photograph by E. Rosamilia.

Text constituted from: Transcription from editor.

Apparatus

French translation

Intraduisible.

English translation

Not usefully translatable.

Italian translation

Intraducibile.

Arabic translation

غير قابل للترجمة بشكل جيد.

Commentary

E. Rosamilia could only study the inscription from a photograph. M. Montanari, who studied the statue, thought that other letters might have been worn out at both ends and especially at right, where the surface is really broken off. From the photograph one gets the impression that a chi was cut in the break, which would give no sense after two μ. Moreover, the place where the inscription would extend, if ever, would be strangely shifted, unless it ran on the whole plinth around. However so long a loss is far from plausible in view of the photographs.

The double mu was in fact a tantalizing clue for a mention of Ammon or of a personal name derived from the god's name or not. After having explored different restorations mentioned here in the apparatus, E. Rosamilia eventually suggested that those letters might be marks appended for helping the placement of the statue. He is now (personal information) even more prone to think so.

A supposed relation with Ammon relies on the very figure of a ram and on some other archaeological arguments. A chance find during building works brought to light this piece with a series of other sculptures and inscriptions, part of which do refer to Ammon (see Mohamed – Reynolds – Dobias-Lalou 2007, pp. 17-22 and IGCyr108400²). In the vicinity, a building, never excavated, might have been related to the find and is hypothetically considered as the temple of Ammon hitherto missing at Cyrene (see Montanari 2016, p.19). This supposed temple unfortunately now lies under the new city of Shahat.

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Images

Fig. 1. View of igcyr134800 Unclear

Maps