MI·25
| Inscription | |
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| Reading in transliteration: | p̣ei |
| Reading in original script: |   
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| Object: | MI·25 Milano (pot) |
| Position: | foot, outside |
| Direction of writing: | dextroverse |
| Script: | North Italic script |
| Letter height: | 2–4.7 cm0.787 in <br />1.85 in <br /> |
| Number of letters: | 3 |
| Number of words: | 1 |
| Number of lines: | 1 |
| Workmanship: | scratched after firing |
| Condition: | complete, damaged |
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| Archaeological culture: | La Tène D [from object] |
| Date of inscription: | late 2nd–1st c. BC [from object] |
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| Type: | unknown |
| Language: | unknown |
| Meaning: | unknown |
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| Alternative sigla: | none |
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| Sources: | Casini & Motta 2011: 467 |
Images
 Fragmentary pot MI·25 Milano with inscription MI·25
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 Inscription MI·25
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Commentary
First published in Casini & Motta 2011: 467, no. 7. Examined for LexLep on 26th April 2022.
Images in Casini & Motta 2011: 467, fig. 6 (drawing and photo).
Three tall characters on the foot of the vessel (length 4 cm). Epsilon and iota are clearly legible, but the first character is damaged by a spot of abrasion in the upper area. Visible are the lower half of a hasta, a longish slanting line on the left and the tip of a shorter oblique line on the right (see the images). Casini & Motta suggest iota (iei) or less likely pi (pei, taking the tip of the right-side line into account), but do not mention the line on the left – indeed the latter precludes the interpretation of the character as any regular letter of the Lepontic alphabet. It may be observed that an unintentional oblique scratch is situated below final iota. All in all, we consider the reading pei most plausible, but by no means certain. As said by Casini & Motta, the inscription may be an abbreviation of a personal name. Incomplete pei( appears in CO·56.1.
Bibliography
| Casini & Motta 2011 | Stefania Casini, Filippo Motta, "Alcune iscrizioni preromane inedite da Milano", Notizie Archeologiche Bergomensi 19 (2011), 459–469. |
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