Support: Fragmentary white marble stele, reddish from earth, with a sculpted triangular pediment showing a quadriga running toward right, led by a winged Nike; the three edges of the pediment are orned with frizes of egg and dart; the stele is broken off obliquely at left and right downwards (w: 0.43 × h: 0.38 × d: 0.14).

Layout: Inscribed on the face, below the pediment.

Letters: 0.02 with serifs; larger lower loop of beta, non-slanting sigma.

Date: End of second or beginning of first century BC

Findspot: Found in 2010 by the French Archaeological Mission in Libya at Al Ardam: North of monument B5 (Kenrick's Qasr Bu Zayd).

Place of origin: Findspot.

Last recorded location: Not seen by IGCyr team.

Text constituted from: Transcription from editors' photographs.

Apparatus

French translation

Intraduisible.

English translation

Not usefully translatable.

Italian translation

Intraducibile.

Arabic translation

غير قابل للترجمة بشكل جيد

Commentary

The careful making and lettering of this stele show a high level in the society, which is in accordance with the impressive monument nearby. The survey has shown that it was first a tomb, later on extended and functionnally changed, perhaps into a temple. Although no dates are available, the stele should rather be related to the first phase, hence the supposed funerary character. Given the small lettering and large space available, it might even be a verse epitaph. However too little is preserved to allow a sure classification.

The last three letters of line 1 almost surely belong to a personal name, for which both Βωλακλῆς and Βωλαγόρας are attested in Cyrenaica. The preceding letters probably belong to a personal name although an adjective is not impossible. The latter possibility should be kept in mind because at line 2 another personal name ending with -κλῆς or -είδης at the genitive is a good possibility. However, this in turn is far from sure, as a word containing -λευ- or -δευ- is also possible.

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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 igcyr132100 Epitaph (?)

Maps