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Base with dedication to Valens, emperor, probably for a statue. Cirta (Numidia). 364-367

INSCRIPTION
In eleven surviving lines:

---] / P[---]V / B[---]N[---]inum / conditorem, / (5) [d(ominum)] n(ostrum) Valentem, / [tr]iumfatorem, / s[e]mper Augustu[m], / P[u]blilius Ceion[i]/u[s] Ca[e]cina / (10) Albinus, v(ir) c(larissimus), / [co]nsularis.

'... founder..., our lord Valens, triumphant, forever Augustus; Publilius Ceionius Caecina Albinus, of clarissimus rank, governor (consularis), [set this up].'

Letter height : 9 - 8 cm

The wording of this inscription is anomalous for a Latin-language statue dedication, in that the name of the honorand is clearly in the accusative, not the dative. However the shape of the block, and its earlier use as a statue base (LSA-2536), suggest that it was indeed for a statue. It is also unclear what this inscription could be if it was not a statue dedication.

DESCRIPTION (from Pflaum)
Limestone base inscribed on two faces. The other inscription is a dedication to the victory of the Caesar Crispus LSA-2536. H 106, W 62, D 49 cm.

PROVENANCE AND CURRENT LOCATION
Found in the street west of Ahmed-Bey's palace. It is now in the Cirta museum.

HONORAND, AWARDER AND DATE
The honorand, Valens, was Augustus from 364 to 378.

The awarder, Publilius Ceionius Caecina Albinus (PLRE I, 34, Albinus 8), was governor of Numidia between 364 and 367, which provides the closest dating for our dedication.

FURTHER DISCUSSION
Lepelley supposes that this was once accompanied by a second statue, to Valentinian I, the co-emperor of Valens. This is likely, since Valentinian was emperor in the West, and hence the effective ruler of Numidia.

Gabriel de Bruyn

Main Reference

Pflaum H.-G., Inscriptions latines de l'Algérie. 2, Inscriptions de la confédération cirtéenne, de Cuicul et de la tribu des Suburbures. [1, Rusicade et région de Rusicade, Cirta, Castellum celtianum, Caldis, Castellum tidditanorum], Paris, 1957, no. 594

Lepelley, C., Les cités de l'Afrique romaine au Bas-Empire, t. 2, Notices d'histoire municipale, Paris 1981, p. 390, no. 6