Inscripcions ibèriques de les comarques de Tarragona (original) (raw)

2015, T R A M A 2 - TREBALLS D'ARQUEOLOGIA DE LA MEDITERRÀNIA ANTIGA

This book contains a compilation of the epigraphy in the Iberian language and writing found in the province of Tarragona up until December 2010, a total of 58 inscriptions. Part of this assemblage consists of previously published documents that have been revised and restudied in the light of our current knowledge of Iberian epigraphy. The new epigraphs are those that have been discovered in recent years or have been found in museums or other collections during fieldwork. New proposals are offered for the reading and interpretation of some of the previously known texts, as well as all the contextual data it has been possible to compile for each piece. It should be stressed that two of the counties in the province of Tarragona –Baix Ebre and Conca de Barberà– have not provided any Iberian documents. Those that have given us the largest number of inscriptions are Ribera d’Ebre (19) and Tarragonès (17). The most outstanding settlements are Castellet de Banyoles (Tivissa), Sant Miquel de Vinebre and Tarragona. In the case of Montsià county, of particular interest are the inscriptions from La Moleta del Remei (Alcanar) and Amposta. Also noteworthy is Vilar de Valls (Alt Camp), which has given us two singular epigraphs: a text of 29 symbols on a spindle and a piece of Attic ware with a reference to its owner, which may be the oldest piece in the studied area. Taking into account the material and typology of the media, the inscriptions can be categorised as follows: 32 pottery vessels, 11 stone items, 7 lead sheets, 5 silver vessels, 2 loom weights and a spindle. Among the pottery, the most common finds are Campanian B and B-oid. Information about the context of the find is often missing, as many of the pieces were moved from their original sites to be reused, discarded or placed in a collection and therefore we lack precise references. We know the original location of some of the epigraphs: a dwelling site, a hoard or a treasure (Tivissa) and the inscriptions on an interior wall of the Minerva Tower (Tarragona). Other more sporadic locations include circulation levels, caves and production areas. The most common purpose of an inscription, in keeping with the rest of the Iberian corpus, is the identification of the owner or recipient of the object (normally the pottery). A total of 25 pieces have been interpreted in this way. On the other hand, the inscriptions on lead sheets have been classified as administrative or commercial documents. Other functions about which we can be fairly certain are funerary inscriptions, indications of the manufacturer or producer (normally stamps) and dedications. As far as the chronology is concerned, examples of Iberian script begin to appear timidly in the 4th century BC and slowly increase throughout the following century. However, the highest percentage of inscriptions is found between the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 1st centuries BC, in other words during the Romanisation period. Continuing use of Iberian script is attested up to the beginning of the 1st century AD, particularly in Tarraco and Baix Camp county. In Tarraco these late-period documents are contemporary with the city’s first Latin inscriptions, although by the end of Augustus’ mandate, Latin had definitively replaced the indigenous script. http://hdl.handle.net/2072/256618