DiscussionBase for statue of Lucius Domitius Iustus Aemilianus Consentius, curator (later re-used for LSA-2206). Lepcis Magna (Tripolitania). Late third to early fourth century. INSCRIPTIONIn eleven lines: Consentii. / L(ucio) Domitio Iusto / Aemiliano, eq(uiti) R(omano), / v(iro) p(erfectissimo), curatori /(5) rei publicae, ob / eximium amorem / in patriam et / cives, ex decreto /(9) ordinis et suffra/giis populi, civi ka/rissimo (sic) Lep(citani) publice '(Statue of) Consentius. To Lucius Domitius Iustus Aemilianus, Roman knight, of perfectissimus rank, curator rei publicae, on account of his outstanding love for the fatherland and its citizens. By decree of the council (ordo) and vote of the people, to a dearest citizen, the Lepcitani [set this up] with public funds.' Letter height 3.5 – 5 cm. DESCRIPTION Monolithic base of Pentelic marble, moulded at top and bottom; H 125, W 65, D 65 cm. The front and both lateral faces are decorated with moulded frames. On the left side, a flower with five leaves stands proud in the centre of the frame. On the right side, this flower was later removed for the inscription LSA-2206 (see below). The back face is finished with a point. On the top face, there are imprints of the feet of a bronze statue close to the front edge, and two small circular holes at the rear; the latter were probably also to support the bronze statue. The formal properties and the dimensions of our base are similar to LSA-2183; like this, our base was probably produced and first used in the first decades of the 3rd century. Our inscription is the second of three uses of this base. It is carved on the original front side over an erased earlier one, probably from the early 3rd century (when the base was made). At a later time, LSA-2206 was carved on the right side (thereby removing the original decoration). PROVENANCE AND CURRENT LOCATION The inscription is standing in situ in the eastern colonnade of the Severan forum. HONORAND, AWARDER AND DATE Lucius Domitius Iustus Aemilianus, the honorand, was a local man; he held the office of curator rei publicae (lines 4-5), an overseer of the public finance and municipal administration who was usually chosen from the local aristocracy but reported to the imperial administration. The inscription was set up by the civic bodies of Lepcis Magna; both the decree of the council (ordo) and the suffragia of the people (populus) are recorded (lines 8-11). The letter forms allow for a broad time-frame, from the mid-3rd century to the first decades of the 4th. The office of curator rei publicae held by a local notable suggests a date not earlier than the tetrarchic period, a late-antique dating supported by the use of a signum ending in -ii (line 1). A terminus ante quem is probably provided by the title eques Romanus, which is last recorded in the first years of the 4th century (see LSA-2198). Our inscription is probably from the tetrarchic period. Main ReferenceReynolds, J. M. and J. B. Ward-Perkins, Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania, enhanced electronic reissue by Gabriel Bodard and Charlotte Roueché (available at http://irt.kcl.ac.uk/irt2009/index.html), London 2009, no. 561Reynolds, J. M. and J. B. Ward-Perkins, Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania, enhanced electronic reissue by Gabriel Bodard and Charlotte Roueché (available at http://irt.kcl.ac.uk/irt2009/index.html), London 2009, no. 561 Tantillo, I. and F. Bigi (eds.), Leptis Magna. Una città e le sue iscrizioni in epoca tardoromana, Cassino 2010, 400-401, no. 45, figs. 7.14, 10.52, pl. XVI |
Last Statues of Antiquity
LSA Database