305. Dedication to Neptune Augustus

Description:
Left half of a rectangular base (w: 0.39 x h: 0.74 x d: 0.68) of yellow limestone marked with red; inscribed on one face. One line in lightly inscribed Neo- Punic (not yet deciphered in 1952) follows the Latin text. The Neo-Punic inscription is unpublished and may include the name (not otherwise attested in Phoenician onomastics) Atarba'al or Ittarba'al. See Introduction. 
Text:
Inscribed on the surviving face. 
Letters:
Lapidary capitals: 1. l, 0.075; 1. 2, 0.07, I1. 4- 5, 0.045. 
Date:
Unknown  
Findspot:
Lepcis Magna: Punic Market, in the South West portico. 
Original Location:
Unknown 
Last recorded location:
Findspot 
Bibliography:
Not previously published. This edition taken from J. M. Reynolds and J. B. Ward-Perkins, The Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania, Rome: British School at Rome, 1952.  
Text constituted from:
Transcription (Reynolds, Ward-Perkins) 
Neptu[no]
Aug(usto) s[ac](rum)
C(aius) Sossius [·· c. 5··]-
nus IIIIu[ir·· ? ··]
5pot(estate) de sua [pecunia posuit]
NEPTV[···]
AVGS[···]
CSOSSIVS[·· c. 5··]
NVSIIIIV[····· ? ··]
5POTDESVA[···············]
<ab>
<lb n="1" />
Neptu
<supplied reason="lost" >
no
</supplied>
<lb n="2" />
<expan>
<abbr>
Aug
</abbr>
<ex>
usto
</ex>
</expan>
<expan>
<abbr>
s
<supplied reason="lost" >
ac
</supplied>
</abbr>
<ex>
rum
</ex>
</expan>
<lb n="3" />
<expan>
<abbr>
C
</abbr>
<ex>
aius
</ex>
</expan>
Sossius
<gap reason="lost" extent="5" unit="character" precision="circa" />
<lb n="4" type="worddiv" />
nus
<num value="4" >
IIII
</num>
u
<supplied reason="lost" >
ir
</supplied>
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" />
<lb n="5" />
<expan>
<abbr>
pot
</abbr>
<ex>
estate
</ex>
</expan>
de
sua
<supplied reason="lost" >
pecunia
</supplied>
<supplied reason="lost" >
posuit
</supplied>
</ab>

5, Presumably quinq(uennalicia) pot(estate) or aed(ilicia) pot(estate). IIII´viri are not otherwise rewarded at Lepcis.

Translation:

Sacred to Neptune Augustus, Caius Sossius [·· ? ··]nus, quattuor-vir with [·· ? ··] powers, (set this up) at his own expense.

Commentary:

No comment.

Photographs:

Ward-Perkins Archive, BSR (Sopr. CLM 200)
 Ward-Perkins Archive, BSR (Sopr. CLM 200)
Ward-Perkins Archive, BSR (Sopr. CLM 644)
 Ward-Perkins Archive, BSR (Sopr. CLM 644)

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