BG·28.2
| Inscription | |
|---|---|
| Reading in transliteration: | va |
| Reading in original script: |  
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| Object: | BG·28 Ghisalba (bottle) (Inscriptions: BG·28.1, BG·28.2) |
| Position: | shoulder, outside |
| Orientation: | 0° |
| Direction of writing: | sinistroverse |
| Script: | unknown |
| Number of letters: | 2 |
| Number of words: | 1 |
| Number of lines: | 1 |
| Workmanship: | scratched |
| Condition: | complete |
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| |
| Archaeological culture: | La Tène C 2 [from object] |
| Date of inscription: | early 2nd c. BC [from object] |
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| |
| Type: | unknown |
| Language: | unknown |
| Meaning: | unknown |
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| Alternative sigla: | Morandi 2004: 285 B |
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| Sources: | Morandi 2004: 711 no. 285 B |
Images
 Inscription BG·28.2 from Morandi
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Commentary
First published (?) in Morandi 2004: 711, no. 285 B.
Images in Morandi 2004: 711 (drawing) and Morandi 2007: 303, fig. 304 (photo; larger on p. 386, fig. 279).
Of two short sequences inscribed in divergent directions on the shoulder of the bottle, the one on the left. In both characters, the hasta is prolonged above the upper bar. Morandi reads va, arguing that the different size of the characters indicates "una differenzazione grafico-fonetica" (2007: 303, no. 37) and comparing CO·31, but, if alpha and waw, av is equally feasible. It is generally assumed, however, that the development of alpha to its upright form 
is concomitant with the disappearance of waw, which would now be homographic; the two letters only appear side by side in the alphabetic aev-inscriptions. A non-language-encoding mark of some kind is more likely, though its function and relation to the putative manufacturer's mark BG·28.1 are unclear. Since the vessel was a burial gift, it might be considered that this second inscription has nothing to do with the first and was applied for the burial.
