BOUNDARY STONE, MARCH-JUNE 76 CE. DRUGSTORE MUSEUM
[Imp(erator) Caesar [Vespasianus] / Aug(ustus), [pontif(ex) max(imus)) / trib(unicia) potestate) VII, imp(erator) XV, / p(ater) p(atriae), co(n)s(ul) VII / desig(natus) VIII, censor / possessum a privatis / per collegium pon= / tificum in sacrum / restituit. / L. T. F. P. T. С.
This cippus or boundary stone was found in excavations conducted 2009-2012 along the modern via Portuense, next to a small tomb on a side road of the ancient via Campana-Portuensis, heading to the salt flats at the mouth of the Tiber, and later to the harbour town of Portus. The upper part, which is badly damaged, gives us the titles of the emperor Vespasian, which allows us to give this cippus a very specific date. It states that Vespasian, through the pontifical college and hence in his role as chief pontiff, restored land to sacred use that had been illegally occupied by private persons. This happened fairly often, as sacred land, usually belonging to a temple, was public land, and was frequently encroached upon by builders as was all public land. The formula "L.T. F. P. T. C." has not been decoded, but must have been common enough to be widely understood.
#EpigraphyTuesday finds us under an ugly apartment building in the #Portuense quarter of #Rome, where a former "drugstore" (really a kind of #supermarket) has been opened as a #museum to display the #tombs found underneath it. Here we find a #cippus of #Vespasian among much else. #AncientBluesky 🏺