DiscussionBase for statue of Caius Volusius Victor, local magistrate and benefactor. Ocriculum (Tuscia et Umbria). 300-400. INSCRIPTIONIn nine lines. Caio Volusio Victor/i, qu(a)estori r(ei) p(ublicae) Oc/riculanorum, IIII/viri (sic, for 'viro') aediles (sic, for 'aedili'), IIIIviri (sic, for ‘viro’) iur/e ed(i)c(undo) (sic, for ‘dicundo’), IIII(viro) quinq(uennali), cives ei (sic, perhaps ‘et’) /(6) plebei hoc emerito stat/uam huic posuerunt, q/ui t(h)ermas (h)iemalis ad pristi/nam dig(nitatem) restauravit et d(e)d(i)c(a)v(it). // (on left side) P(o)s(i)t(a) diae (sic, pro die) III nonas No(vem)b(res). 'To Caius Volusius Victor, quaestor of the city (res publica) of Ocriculum, member of the board of four, aedilis, member of the board of four man with jurisdictional power (IIIIvir iure dicundo), member of the board of four men elected for five years, the citizens and plebeians, this being completed, set up a statue to this man, on account of his service, who restored the winter baths to their former condition and dedicated them. (on left side) Set up on the third day before the Nones of November.' The inscription presents a number of problems, both in terms of mistakes and of the reading of the letters, which are not always unambiguous. The text as presented here is basically the same as in CIL, with a few changes. On l. 5, 'ei' at the end of the lines is considered an improper insertion by the epigrapher in CIL and subsequent editors, but the inconsistencies in this inscription force us to consider the possibility that it might be 'et'. At the beginning of l. 6, the epigrapher originally carved 'plerei', or 'plerii'. This was corrected, but it is not clear whether in antiquity or in modern times. In l. 6, CIL gives 'hoce merito', but we have preferred 'hoc emerito'. If this is correct, it is not clear whether it refers to the completion of the works carried out or to the end of the honorand's term in office. Parts of the translation offered here are merely tentative. There is no decisive element for dating this inscription in the late antique period. However, a fourth century date is suggested by the paleography, as well as the formulas employed for praising the honorand. This is supported, furthermore, by the history of the building to which our text refers, as illuminated by other inscriptions mentioned below. DESCRIPTION (Photograph) Marble base, with mouldings on top and bottom. The epigraphic field is rough, indicating the erasure of an earlier inscription. PROVENANCE AND LOCATION Our base was found in 1782, during the excavation of the Winter Baths at Otricoli. Other inscriptions certainly from this same provenance, also record works in this complex in 341 (LSA-1632, LSA-1633, and CIL XI, 4095). HONORAND, AWARDER AND DATE Caius Volusius Victor was a local notable and civic magistrate, who occupied different functions in the city of Ocriculum. The inscription does not identify his rank or tribe, but he was certainly a member of the local elite, possibly of equestrian rank due to the importance of the magistracies held. It is impossible to be certain about the date when Victor was active. The inscription refers to restoration works carried out in the Winter Baths, part of the bathing complex erected in the mid-2nd century (Pietrangeli 1943, 67-71). Some scholars date Victor's intervention to the period after 341, when the brothers Sextus Cluvius Martinus and Marcus Caesolius Saturninus were responsible for a series of works in this same area (see LSA-1632, LSA-1633, and CIL XI, 4095). In this case, our inscription should be dated to the end of the fourth century, when the baths would probably be in need of new restoration works (Sisani 2006, 212). It should be noted, however, that nothing of the Winter Baths survives, and that it is impossible to be certain of the date when this complex was originally built. Furthermore, the magistracies occupied by Victor are very traditional, not attested after mid-the fourth century in this area. Later inscriptions recording the setting up of statues in thanks for public works are invariably dedicated to provincial governors or, more rarely in Italy, to defensores. A date in the first half of the fourth century might also be supported by the identity of the awarders of our monument, the citizens and the plebs of Ocriculum: whereas dedications by the citizenry remained normal in the later part of the fourth century, the plebs as a specific group does not usually appear in this period. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank Silvia Orlandi for drawing this document to my attention, and to Ulrich Gehn and Bryan Ward-Perkins, for their assistance with the text of the inscription and its translation. Main ReferenceL'Année épigraphique, , 1964, 96bisCorpus Inscriptionum Latinarum; , XI, 4094 Discussion ReferencesPietrangeli, C., Ocriculum (Otricoli), Rome 1943, Sisani, S., Umbria, Marche (Guide Archeologiche Laterza), Bari 2006, |
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