Limestone altar dedicated to Isis
The crown of an altar is doubly moulded, with volutes and a decorative triangle motif in the middle. The inscription field is below. The base is also doubly moulded. The corners are battered, which indicates that the altar was in secondary use.
ISIDI
SAC (rum)
RAECIA MAR
CELLA
Dedicated
to Isis.
Raecia
Marcella
The second part of the name Marcella (-cella) did not fit on the inscription field, so it is on the base. The quality of the letters also gradually diminshes, apparently due to the limited space. The first two lines, like the first three letters in the third line are carved very well, which cannot be said of the remaining letters. Since arualae similar to this are frequent in the archaeological materials from Varvaria, and generally dedicated to deities typical of Liburnia - Silvanus, the Nymohs, and Janus - it may be assumed that the model was made earlier, and that the inscription to Isis was entered later. The dedicant is a woman from a local family of Liburnian origin. The family has been confirmed in Liburnia on several occasions (Kuntić-Makvić 1982: 154-155). It is precisely on the basis of data on the movements of the Raecia family that this monument has been dated to the end of the first or the second century.
The monument also confirms that the cult of Isis was adopted in Liburnian teritory at an early date among the native population caught up in the process of Romanization. This also pertains to women, The writings of Pseudo-Skylax on the power of women among the Liburnians (Suić 1966: 52, Selem 1972: 48-50) thus bear mentioning.
Catalogue entry
Limestone altar dedicated to Isis
Šibenik City Museum, Šibenik
Antique collection
inv. no. 11748
Bribirska Glavica (Varvaria)
Roman Empire, 1st half of the 2nd c. A.D.
limestone
29.5 x 19 x 13.3 cm
Resources
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