BG·40

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Inscription
Reading in transliteration:	to
Reading in original script:
Variant reading:	ot
Object:	BG·40 Caravaggio (bowl)
Position:	bottom, outside
Orientation:	180°
Direction of writing:	ambiguous
Script:	North Italic script
Letter height:	2–3 cm0.787 in <br />1.181 in <br />
Number of letters:	2
Number of words:	1
Number of lines:	1
Workmanship:	scratched after firing
Condition:	complete
Archaeological culture:	La Tène D [from object]
Date of inscription:	1st century BC [from object]
Type:	unknown
Language:	perhaps Celtic
Meaning:	abbreviation (?)
Alternative sigla:	Solinas 1995: 35
Sources:	Solinas 1995: 334 no. 35

Images

Bowl BG·40 Caravaggio with inscription BG·40

Inscription BG·40

Commentary

First published in Castelfranco 1886: 239. Examined for LexLep on 27^th April 2022.

Images in Tizzoni 1984: tav. III g (drawing), Frontini 1985: tav. 7.9 (drawing) and Olcese 1998: 331, tav. VII.8 (drawing).

Inscribed on the bottom of the bowl just above the foot (length 3.8 cm). The letters are mirror-symmetrical both horizontally and vertically, but the orientation seems to be inverted judging by the scratches (upside-down application being fairly common for short graffiti from the Bergamo area). The writing direction cannot be determined. Tibiletti Bruno 1984: 120 also considers a reading according to the Latin alphabet (<xo>/<ox>) or a North Italic reading , ultimately preferring ot because is larger than . Possibly an abbreviation of a personal name, as suggested by Tibiletti Bruno, who assumes that it is the name of the bowl's owner.

Corinna Salomon

Bibliography

Castelfranco 1886	[Pompeo] Castelfranco, "Liguri-Galli e Galli-Romani della Transpadana", Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 12 (1886), 194–212, 228–257.
Frontini 1985	Patrizia Frontini, La ceramica a vernice nera nei contesti tombali della Lombardia [= Archeologia dell'Italia Settentrionale 3], Como: 1985.