TI·3
| Inscription | |
|---|---|
| Reading in transliteration: | lou |
| Reading in original script: |   
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| Object: | TI·3 Giubiasco (cup) |
| Position: | outside, wall |
| Orientation: | 0° |
| Direction of writing: | sinistroverse |
| Script: | prob. North Italic script (Lepontic alphabet) |
| Letter height: | 1.3–2.4 cm0.512 in <br />0.945 in <br /> |
| Number of letters: | 3 |
| Number of words: | 1 |
| Number of lines: | 1 |
| Workmanship: | scratched after firing |
| Condition: | complete |
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| |
| Archaeological culture: | Augustan, La Tène D 2 [from object] |
| Date of inscription: | 1st c. BC [from object] |
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| Type: | unknown |
| Language: | prob. Celtic |
| Meaning: | abbreviation (?) |
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| |
| Alternative sigla: | Whatmough 1933 (PID): 260 bis Solinas 1995: 9 Morandi 2004: 4 |
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| Sources: | Morandi 2004: 521 f. |
Images
 Cup TI·3 Giubiasco with inscription TI·3
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 Cup TI·3 Giubiasco with inscription TI·3
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Commentary
First published in Herbig 1906: 190, no. 5. Examined for LexLep on 18th August 2021.
Images in Herbig 1906: 190, no. 5 (drawing), Rhŷs 1913: tav. IV (photo), Ulrich 1914 II: Taf. LXII.10 (photo), Crivelli 1973b: tav. 8.12 (drawing), Crivelli 1977: tav. 1 (drawing).
Inscribed on the wall of the bowl near the rim (length 2.5 cm). The scratches are traced with white paint. The reading lou goes back to Herbig, who notes that initial lambda is clearer on the original than the drawing – indeed, the apparent prolongation of the bar to form upsilon consists in two slight scratches which do not damage the varnish in some places, and are certainly unintentional (cf. Whatmough 1933: 77, no. 260bis; Crivelli 1943: 53; pace Rhŷs 1913: 30, no. 11, Solinas 1995: 324, no. 9 uou). Considering large and offset upsilon, upright lou seems more likely than pou, which would also have inverted upsilon, though upside-down inscriptions are more common on Giubiasco bowls.
If the inscription is not a non-script mark (large upsilon does not inspire confidence), the sequence is most likely to be an abbreviation of a personal name (Tibiletti Bruno 1978: 143; Morandi); see the word page.
Bibliography
| Crivelli 1943 | Aldo Crivelli, Atlante preistorico e storico della Svizzera Italiana. Vol. 1: Dalle origini alla civiltà romana, Bellinzona: Istituto Editoriale Ticinese 1943. |
|---|---|
| Crivelli 1973b | Aldo Crivelli, "Cronologia protostorica della Valpadana dal IV al I sec. a.C.", Rivista Archeologica dell'Antica Provincia e Diocesi di Como 152–155 (1970–1973), 427–474. |
| Crivelli 1977 | Aldo Crivelli, "La necropoli di Giubiasco", Rivista Archeologica dell'Antica Provincia e Diocesi di Como 159 (1977), 5–98. |
