The myth of « laccatvm » : a case study from an unprecedented titulus from a Lusitanian Dressel 14

David Djaoui (1)

1 MDAA - Musée Départemental Arles Antique

The study of the Lusitanian amphorae of the harbour dump site of the Roman shipwreck Arles-Rhône 3 (cf. Djaoui and Quaresma, in this volume) revealed the dipinto LAC[--] on the neck of a Dressel 14 parva. Its location on the second line of the dipinto did not allow LAC[--]to be developed into LAC(catum). LAC[--] should indeed clarify the nature of the product whose name should appear on the first line of the titulus pictus. On the basis of various inscriptions known on Lusitanian amphorae, liquamen seemed the most likely hypothesis to indicate the product contained in this one. LAC[--] should be a name describing the liquamen. In this article I develop LAC[--] into LAC(ertus), a mackerel which would specify the name of the fish from which the liquamen is made. This choice led me to review the entire epigraphic laccatum corpus enriched by the new discoveries in the Rhone. Thanks to the enlargement of a photograph by U. Ehmig, epigraphic evidence has been given for this hypothesis. ‘Laccatum’ must therefore be developed into LAC(ertus) CAT[--] and CAT[--] could be developed into cat(ulus) to describe a small mackerel.

Mots clés: Arles; Lusitanian; Amphorae; Tituli picti; Laccatum; Instrumentum; Epigraphy; Dressel 14

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Archéologie et Préhistoire

David Djaoui. The myth of « laccatvm » : a case study from an unprecedented titulus from a Lusitanian Dressel 14. Ines vaz Pinto; Rui Roberto de Almeida; Archer Martin. Lusitanian Amphorae: Production and Distribution, 10, pp.117-127, 2016, Roman an Late Antique Mediterranean Pottery. ⟨halshs-03132055⟩