Support
White marble block chiseled on all sides except on front face; either recut at right or forming originally a built monument with another block to the right; probably also recut on top, unless another block was laid over this one (1.27; 0.285;0.615).
Layout
Inscribed on front face in five groups of letters: column a to the left, column b to the right, a lost column c further right; column d was added between a and b at a higher level, so that only its line 2 is now preserved; for the re-use, the second lines of a and b have been erased; so was also another mention (e) placed under b.
Letters
a and b 0.033; d 0.018; xi with central vertical stroke, moderately slanting sigma, no serifs.
Place of Origin
Findspot.
Date
First half of third century B.C. (lettering)
Findspot
Found in 1925 by G. Oliverio at Cyrene pleiades; HGL : Sanctuary of Apollo (see commentary).
Later recorded Location
Seen by Pugliese Carratelli in 1960 at Cyrene pleiades; HGL : Sanctuary of Apollo , 'in the temple of Demeter' (see commentary).
Last recorded Location
Seen by C. Dobias-Lalou in 1983 and again 2001 at Cyrene pleiades; HGL : on the North wall of the so-called temple of Dioscuri .
Text constituted from
Transcription from stone (CDL).
Oliverio, Taccuini inediti Oliverio, G., Taccuini inediti - see in bibliography , XI.39, whence SECir Oliverio, G., Pugliese-Carratelli, G., Morelli, D., 1961-1962, Supplemento Epigrafico Cirenaico, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente (ASAA)39-40 (= n.s. 23-24), 219-375 - see in bibliography , 59 (fig. 55); Rosamilia, 2014 Rosamilia, E., 2014, Firme di scultori della Cirenaica: un'analisi del corpus, in Luni, M. (ed.), Cirene greca e romana, Monografie di archeologia libica36, Cirene Atene d'Africa7, Roma, 89-106 - see in bibliography , n. 3.
a) Bakal fils d'Aiglanôr, 〚[---] 〛.
b) Anaxéas (fils d'Untel), 〚[---] 〛.
c) [Untel fils d'Untel].
d) [Untel] fils de Kartisthénès.
e) 〚[---] 〛 [---] .
a) Bakal son of Aiglanor, 〚[---] 〛.
b) Anaxeas (son of So-and-so), 〚[---] 〛.
c) [So-and-so son of So-and-so].
d) [So-and-so] son of Kartisthenes.
e) 〚[---] 〛 [---] .
a) Bakal figlio di Aiglanor, 〚[---] 〛.
b) Anaxeas (figlio del tale), 〚[---] 〛.
c) [Il tale figlio del tale].
d) [Il tale] figlio di Kartisthenes.
e) 〚[---] 〛 [---] .
In Oliverio's papers, no findspot was given. Pugliese-Carratelli, who saw the stone, erroneously wrote in SECir Oliverio, G., Pugliese-Carratelli, G., Morelli, D., 1961-1962, Supplemento Epigrafico Cirenaico, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente (ASAA)39-40 (= n.s. 23-24), 219-375 - see in bibliography that it was inside a 'Temple of Demeter' which is unknown in the Sanctuary of Apollo. In fact, its location in the so-called Temple of Dioscuri, checked again in 2001, is probably the same as that in Pugliese-Carratelli's time. Although the stone was re-used, it probably already stood in the sanctuary of Apollo in its initial use.
We infer the date of the find from the number of Oliverio's sketchbook mentioned in SECir Oliverio, G., Pugliese-Carratelli, G., Morelli, D., 1961-1962, Supplemento Epigrafico Cirenaico, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente (ASAA)39-40 (= n.s. 23-24), 219-375 - see in bibliography .
Given the lettering and the name, rare at Cyrene, although related to numerous names in Ἀναξι-, the man mentioned at b.1 was probably the father of the priestess of Artemis mentioned at IGCyr092000.
This block was clearly part of a monument bearing statues. The lines a.2 and b.2 might have born either the names of other dedicants or of persons honored, mentioned at the accusative, whose statues would have stood on top. If so, the smaller lettering of d) might correspond to a child. The placement and smaller dimensions of the erased line e) is an attractive clue for an artist's signature (so also Rosamilia, 2014 Rosamilia, E., 2014, Firme di scultori della Cirenaica: un'analisi del corpus, in Luni, M. (ed.), Cirene greca e romana, Monografie di archeologia libica36, Cirene Atene d'Africa7, Roma, 89-106 - see in bibliography , n. 3).
Rosamilia suggests that d) is the rest of a previous inscription. However the lettering does not seem really different from what survives of a) and b).
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