DiscussionBase for statue (subject unstated), re-erected at command of emperors Valentinian I and Valens. Rome, probably Baths of Caracalla. 365. INSCRIPTION:In eight lines. Letter height 3.5 cm. [DD(omini)] nn(ostri) Valentin[ianus] / [et] Valens Au[gusti], / [or]natui publico co[nstitui] / [l]ocarique iusseru[nt]. /(5) Administrante Ru[fio] / Volusiano v(iro) c(larissimo), ex pra[ef(ecto)] / praet(orio), prae(fecto) urbi iu[d(icans)] / iter(um) sacrar(um) cogn[it(ionum)]. 'Our lords Valentinian and Valens Augusti commanded [this statue] be placed and set up for the public embellishment. [This was] managed by Rufius Volusianus, of clarissimus rank, former praetorian prefect, urban prefect, judge in the imperial court of appeal for the second time.' The inscription records the dedication of a statue of unstated subject, restored or moved from somewhere else. However, the fact that this dedication was carried out by command of the emperors Valentinian and Valens is unusual in late antique Rome. DESCRIPTION (CIL and Gregori) Front of marble base, 45 x 44 cm. The front was cut from the base, which had earlier inscriptions on both sides. Our inscription was carved on top of an earlier inscription, which was erased. The surface is weathered, and the inscription is not legible at parts. PROVENANCE AND CURRENT LOCATION There are different reports concerning the provenance of this base, including the baths of Caracalla, the basilica of S. Peter and a certain 'Stephanus Longus, marmorarius' (CIL). This is because the base, found in 1546, was moved to S. Peter (Lanciani 1990, 1997).Other bases associated to the same prefect Volusianus and the emperors Valentinian and Valens were found in this area: LSA-1286, LSA-1287 and LSA-1288. What is left of our base is now in the Capitoline museums, Sala terrena a destra II (inv. 7099). HONORAND, AWARDER AND DATE The base was dedicated to an unspecified honorand. It was probably moved to the baths of Caracalla, as the inscription itself suggests (ll. 3-4). What is unusual about this dedication is the fact that it was commanded by the emperors Valentinian I and Valens themselves, an indication of their special interest for the city of Rome. The dedication was supervised by the prefect of the City, Ceionius Rufius Volusianus, in 365 (PLRE I, 978-980 Volusianus 5). Main ReferenceCorpus Inscriptionum Latinarum; , VI, 1170 (+p.4332)Gregori, G. L. (ed.), Supplementa Italica. Imagines. Roma (CIL VI), 1. Musei Capitolini, Rome 1999, n. 200 Discussion ReferencesJones, A. H. M. et al., The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. I 260-395, Cambridge et al. 1971 (1975), pp. 978-980 (Volusianus 5) Lanciani, R., Storia degli scavi di Romae notizie intorno le collezioni romane di antichità, vol. 2 (1531-1549), Rome 1990, p. 197 |
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