Tab.Vindol. 600. Ink writing tablet

Support

Type of object
Ink writing tablet
Material
Wood
Dimensions
W 157 mm × H 25 mm mm
Site
Vindolanda
Site period
5
Site context
N
Find date
1991
Modern location
Now in the British Museum.
Institution/acc. #
British Museum: 1993,1103.67
Inv. no.
91.1041

Text field

Style of lettering
(not specified)

Text

Origin of text
Vindolanda
Ancient site
Vindolanda
Text type
Military document
Tablet Category
Accounts and Lists
Date
c. a.d. 120-130
Dating criteria
context, site period

Introduction

Two fragments of a diptych containing remains of two columns written along the grain. The fragments are both complete at the left and right margin, and probably the bottom, but incomplete at the top. The backs are probably blank, though there may be exiguous traces of ink on the back of the left-hand fragment. The subject matter is closely related to that of 309 and the text may well be the work of the same hand. We have included it among the accounts, although it is possible that, as in 309 (and cf. 686), we have a list of items included in the body of a letter. The main points of interest in the text are linguistic, particularly the concrete meaning of the word ueturae (sc. uecturae), ‘carriage’, on which see Adams (2003) §7.

Edition

i
.  .  .
ṣẹṣṣịọṇẹṣ traces
uitus iv
materies at ṭẹg̣um..
curuas(?) iv
ii
.  .  .
et a..on.. traces?
ad capsum ueturae
vacat

Translation

… seats …
felloes, 4
timbers for the covering (?),
curved ribs (?), 4

and a board (?)…for the body of the carriage.

Commentary and notes

i.1.  ṣẹṣṣịọṇẹṣ: only the bottoms of letters survive but the traces are compatible with the suggested reading which is appropriate to the context, cf. 309.i.9.

i.2.  uitus: see Adams (2003) §7; this is a fourth declension noun glossed by Greek ἴτυς, meaning the felloe of a wheel (see CGL VII 425, s.v. uitus and cf. P.Cair.Masp. IV 303.14), so this will be the plural (presumably accusative, see following note). The number here and in line 4 suggests that we are dealing with a 4-wheeled vehicle. We would expect the numeral to be in the form iiii but there are other examples of subtractives in the tablets, see e.g. 192.4, 193.5.

i.3.  For materies see 215.ii.5 and note. What follows is difficult. We think that at is certain and um almost so; the letter before um is either g or c. After at it is possible, though not easy, to read t; this suggests that we should take at as ad, with the consonant change from ad to at caused by the following t (cf. 292.ii.3, at te), plus a noun in the accusative; this would give us a construction like that in ii.2, ad capsum ueturae (cf. note). The next letter is most like i, for which we have no suggestion , but e may be possible. If so, we suggest ṭẹgumẹṇ with the end of the word overrunning the fold. (there may be traces of en on the right-hand side of the diptych).

i.4.  curuas: if this is to be taken with the preceding line, curuas would be an adjective agreeing with materies, accusative plural, perhaps referring to curved wooden struts or ribs forming the frame on which the covering of the vehicle was laid (curuus is largely poetical, but for similar uses see TLL IV 1550.61f., 71f.). But the order would be very awkward. For the suggestion that curuas should be understood as substantival, referring to part of a carriage, see Adams (2003) §7, who wonders whether the word might refer to the rims of wheels; if that were the case it would not connect with the preceding line.

ii.1.  a..on..: tentatively, we suggest reading ax̣ịonẹṃ. The reading is far from certain since the tops of some letters are lost, most importantly what we have read as . The traces at the end are very difficult and might indeed be dirt rather than ink. Nor is it certain whether there are any traces of a number following; if not, we might have a singular without a number. axio in the sense required has not hitherto been attested, but the formation with –io might be explicable as having diminutive force (see Adams (2003) §7). We suggest taking it with the next line and translating it as ‘board’ (cf. LS s.v. axis F).

ii.2.  The reading is certain and ueturae must be understood as uecturae, the loss of c posing no problem (see Adams (2003) §7). The word occurs with the meaning ‘transportation charges’ in 649 (see 11-12 note), but here it must have the concrete sense of ‘carriage’, an important precedent for a usage hitherto unattested this early (see Adams (2003) §7).

Bibliography