TI·56
| Inscription | |
|---|---|
| Reading in transliteration: | tati |
| Reading in original script: |    
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| |
| Object: | TI·56 Giubiasco (bottle) |
| Position: | bottom, outside |
| Orientation: | 0° |
| Direction of writing: | sinistroverse |
| Script: | North Italic script (Lepontic alphabet) |
| Letter height: | 3–4 cm1.181 in <br />1.575 in <br /> |
| Number of letters: | 4 |
| Number of words: | 1 |
| Number of lines: | 1 |
| Workmanship: | scratched after firing |
| Condition: | complete |
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| |
| Archaeological culture: | La Tène C 2 [from object] |
| Date of inscription: | 2nd c. BC [from object] |
|
| |
| Type: | unknown |
| Language: | prob. Celtic |
| Meaning: | abbreviation or 'of Tat(i)os' |
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| |
| Alternative sigla: | none |
|
| |
| Sources: | Salomon 2024c: 3–5 |
Images
 Bottle TI·56 Giubiasco with inscription TI·56
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 Bottle TI·56 Giubiasco with mark on the foot
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 Inscription TI·56
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Commentary
Images in Salomon 2024c: 4, fig. 2 (photo as above).
Inscribed on the bottom of the bottle (length 3.5 cm) in tall letters which feature a few prolonged lines. Some additional scratches disturb the inscription; a long oblique scratch which meets the lower end of the last hasta could allow a reading of the last letter as upsilon rather than iota, but the scratch in question is considerably fainter than the others and crosses both lines of preceding St Andrew's cross. The placement and orientation of the inscription is unusual, as inscriptions on vasi a trottola are more often placed on the shoulder (in the Ticino e.g. TI·12, TI·13, TI·14, TI·21, TI·24); BS·19 and CO·66 on the undersides of vasi a trottola are both upside-down.
The sequence tati may be a personal name in the genitive -ī, though an abbreviation seems more likely (cf. TI·14, TI·15, TI·24), as clear genitive forms are not otherwise attested in the graffiti from the Ticino necropoleis. If the reading should be tatu, an interpretation as an on-stem nominative would be possible.
On the vessel's foot is scratched a single character in the shape 
, which joins a plethora of similar more or less scriptlike marks on the Iron-age pottery of the North Italic region; it is unlikely to represent writing (pace Tori et al. 2022: 743, who read 
ai), but may be a manufacturer's sign.
