DiscussionBase for statue of Lucilius Constantius, governor of Tuscia et Umbria. Luna (Tuscia et Umbria). Mid to late fourth century INSCRIPTIONIn eight lines. Letter height 4 cm. Ex decreto ordo Lunens(ium) / et cives, inmortalibus / beneficiis relevati ob memo/riam posteritati tradendam, /(5) statuam collocarunt Lucilio / Costantio, praesidi Mauritaniae / et Tincitaniae (sic, pro Tingitanae), v(iro) c(larissimo), consulari / Tusciae et Umbriae. 'By decree, the council and citizens of Luna, having received relief through [his] undying services, set up this statue to pass on [his] memory to posterity, to Lucilius Constantius, governor (praeses) of Mauretania and Tingitana, of clarissimus rank, governor (consularis) of Tuscia and Umbria.' DESCRIPTION (From CIL and Bertinelli and Frova) Marble base, 67.5 x 65.5 x 36.5cm. The epigraphic field has traces of the erasure of an earlier inscription. PROVENANCE AND LOCATION Our base was found out-of-context, re-used as part of a pillar of the basilica of S. Marco, in Sarzana (province of La Spezia) (Podestà 1890, 376-377). Other statue-bases were found on the same occasion, including LSA-1617). As our inscription records, however, these bases came from nearby Luni. Frova 1984, 20 suggests that these bases might have come from the area of the Capitolium, due to their number and importance. Our base is now in La Spezia, at the Archaeological museum. HONORAND, AWARDER AND DATE The inscription records a dedication to the governor of Tuscia et Umbria Lucilius Constantius. His term is datable to the period after 366, when the province of Tuscia et Umbria was still under the authority of correctores (PLRE I, 227 Constantius 9; Cecconi 1994, 213). It is certainly earlier than 400, as the practice of dedicating statues in this part of Italy is not attested after the end of the fourth century. Constantius' rterm as governor (praeses) of Tingitana probably took place while he was a vir perfectissimus, since his rank as clarissimus is only mentioned after that office in the inscription. The statue was dedicated by a decree of the council and citizens of Luni. Main ReferenceInscriptiones Latinae Selectae, , 1252Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum; , XI, 6958 Bertinelli, A. and A. Frova, Marmora Lunensia Erratica, Sarzana 1983, pp. 196-197 Discussion ReferencesCecconi, G. A., Governo imperiale e élites dirigenti nell'Italia tardoantica. Problemi di storia politico-amministrativa (270-476 d.C.), Como 1994, Jones, A. H. M. et al., The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. I 260-395, Cambridge et al. 1971 (1975), p. 227 (Constantius 9) |
[Sleeker_special_clear]