II.1.1 14. Ownership inscription, ca. 350 B.C.E.
Monument
Type
BG saltcellar.
Material
Clay.
Dimensions (cm)
H.3.1 (inv), W., Th., Diam.7.9 (inv).
Additional description
Attica, ca. 350 B.C.E. (close to Agora XII, type 944-947). Fully preserved.
Find place
Berezan.
Find context
Grave 95.
Find circumstances
Found in 1900, excavations of G.L. Skadovsky.
Modern location
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation.
Institution and inventory
The State Hermitage Museum, Б.110.
Autopsy
August 2016.
Epigraphic field
Position
Base, underside.
Lettering
Graffito. Written in a straight line on reserved resting surface in neat small letters. There was certainly room for larger letter size, so the small size is due to choice not constraint. Four-bar sigma with splayed bars, pi with shorter right vertical and ornamental extensions at the top of verticals, omicron smaller than other letters.
Letterheights (cm)
0.2-0.4
Text
Category
Ownership inscription.
Date
Ca. 350 B.C.E.
Dating criteria
Ceramic date.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/>Πόσιος
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
Translation
[Property] of Posis.
Commentary
Πόσιος is a genitive form of the name Πόσις. Dubois (IGDOLb, p. 76, no. 33) notes that the name is particularly well attested at Pontic apoikiai and refers to Bechtel's (Die historischen Personennamen des Griechischen bis zur Kaiserzeit, Halle, 1917, no. 381) suggestion that Posis can be seen as a hypocoristic of the name of Ποσ(ε)ιδο- stem, such as e.g. Ποσίδεος.
The name is attested at Olbia in the Classical and Hellenistic periods: LGPN online V4-21270, V4-21271, V4-21272.
Saltcellars in Borysthenes were often marked by owners. They also seem to be a common item of grave goods in Archaic and Classical burials at the site.
Images
© 2024 Irene
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