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Arena, Emiliano

Graffiti vascolari inediti di epoca arcaica da Zankle

2023 - Leo S. Olschki

P. 179-214

  • The epigraphic record of the Archaic age related to Zankle consists of a few documents: these are coin legends and dedications to Olympia, inscribed in the Chalkidic alphabet, which enlighten the history of the city between the late VI and early decades of the V cent. B.C. Six previously unpublished vascular graffiti, coming from urban excavations carried out by the Superintendence of Messina in the 70s-90s, now fill the gap related to the first centuries of life of the Chalkidic polis and its urban territory. The inscriptions nrr. 1, 2, 3, and perhaps nr. 4, precede the oldest monetary legends of Zankle of the last quarter of the sixth century. The oldest graffito (nr. 1), engraved on local ceramics, was presumably written in Zankle toward the end of VII cent. B.C.,
  • the other three are on SOS and à la brosse amphorae and pose the problematic relationship between written text and life stages of this type of vessels. The two most recent graffiti (nrr. 5 and 6), dating back to the first decades of the V century, probably record the oldest evidence of graphemes of the eastern ionic alphabet found on the soil of Zankle and can be contextualized within the phenomenon of ‘Ionification' of the alphabets of Sicily, which occurred some decades before the so-called reform of Archinus in Athens. [Publisher's text]

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Parola del passato : rivista di studi antichi : LXXVIII, 1, 2023