Inscriptions from Amelia

Umbrian Inscription from Santa Maria in Canale

Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples
There is a replica in the Museo Archeologico

The central part of a double-sided bronze Umbrian inscription (late 4th century BC) was discovered in the 18th century.  It was sold to Cardinal Stefano Borgia, and after his death in 1804, it passed to the museum in Naples.

The find-spot is thought to have been close to the remains of a temple at Santa Maria in Canale, near the ruined 15th century Rocca di Canale outside Montecastrilli (north of Amelia).  This temple was monumentalised in the 3rd or 2nd century BC, but the earlier date of the inscription suggests that it had been a cult site before its monumentalisation.

The inscriptions on each side use an Etruscan alphabet from Volsinii (Orvieto).  Each comprises four lines, and they are similar but not identical.  Their fragmentary nature makes them difficult to understand, but they seem to record a dedication to a deity, perhaps Jove. 

Latin Inscription on the Roscia Thesaurum (1st century AD)

Museo Archeologico, Amelia

This marble trough was found outside Amelia.  The inscription on the front reads:

T[itus] Roscius T[itus] F[ilius] Autuma [Quattuoro]vir Iter[um] de sua pecunia dat thesaur[um] p[ondo] LXXV

This translates that Titus Roscius Autuma, son of Titus , who was a quattuorovir

for the second time, provided this thesaurum  (a container used in a temple to receive offerings) at his own expense.  The weight, 75 pounds (about 25 kg) cannot refer to the trough itself; it probably refers to a lost component, perhaps a bronze lining that acted as a safe.

Titus was obviously a member of the gens Roscia, which was well known in and around Amelia.  However, the (probably Etruscan) cognomen "Autuma" is otherwise unknown.