A "uotorum nuncupatio" from Colonia Augusta Firma : an analytical approach

Abstract

The recent excavations in Écija (Seville, Spain), ancient colonia Augusta Firma, have yielded an exceptional assemblage of sculptures and inscriptions. Among these pieces there is a moulded plaque worked in a fine-grained white marble that bears a ceremonial text, a uotorum nuncupatio. It is a very old ritual formula that was usually inscribed on perishable materials and only rarely onstone. The analytical approach to the inscription makes it possible to clarify the origin of the material, adding newinformation about the historical context of the piece. Themajor and trace element analysis results have shown thatthe stone is a white calcitic marble, and suggest the hypothesis of the stone coming from the Luni-Carrara marble area.