Loading

Slab with an imperial building inscription

15 AD

National Museum of Slovenia

National Museum of Slovenia
Ljubljana, Slovenia

A fragment is preserved from the central section of the slab with profiled upper and lower edges. Height of the letters: 10 cm (lines 1 and 3: T: 11.5 cm), 8 – 7 cm (lines 2, 4, and 5). The preserved part of the slab, which bears a monumental imperial inscription, is broken into 15 pieces of varied size that fit together.
The slab was dug up in 1887 in Ljubljana at a depth of 1 meter while shifting the city water pipes at Napoleonon trg (Napoleon square), at the corner with Salendrova St.
Since remains of the town walls were discovered in the near proximity of the site of discovery of the fragments, it is very likely that the monumental inscription actually referred to the town walls with towers, although this is not necessarily the only explanation of the fragmentary phase at the end of the inscription. According to Cuntz, the inscription should be dated to the month of May, AD 15; however, the supplements divus for Augustus (17 September AD 14), and pontifex maximus for Tiberius (10 March AD 15) are not entirely certain, as has been emphasized by Šašel and Weiler, who dated the inscription to the period between the death of Augustus on 19 August AD 14 and the spring of AD 15.

Details

  • Title: Slab with an imperial building inscription
  • Date: 15 AD
  • Date Created: 15 AD
  • Physical Dimensions: 79 x 82 cm
  • Provenance: Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Transcript:
    The Emperor Caesar, son of the deified (Caesar), Augustus, chief priest, consul for the thirteenth time, saluted imperator twenty-one times, holder of the tribunician power thirty-seven times, father of his country, and Tiberius Caesar, son of the deified Augustus, Augustus chief priest, consul for the second time, saluted imperator six times, holder of the tribunician power sixteen times, gave (the town) [walls and towers?].
    Hide TranscriptShow Transcript
  • Type: Building inscription
  • Rights: Narodni muzej Slovenije
  • Medium: Pale marble

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Flash this QR Code to get the app
Google apps