BCC LW1
Lead
Weight with Greek
Inscription in Six Lines
87x43mm. 153.5gm.
1st to 3rd century CE.
ΙΤΑ/ΛΙΚ/ΗΗ/ΜΙΛ/ΙΤΡ/Α, (ιταλικη ημι λιτρα, half an
Italian litra).
Surface find from
Caesarea Maritima, ca. 1970
An identical specimen from the same mold, found near
Caesarea Maritima in 1949, is listed in the Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae,
Vol. II, Ameling, Cotton, Eck, et.al. on page 621. According to the authors, the term “
litra”, derived from the
Roman word “Libra”, came to indicate local
weight standards between the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. Therefore when the
Roman standard was intended the word ιταλικη was added to distinguish them. The
weight of 153.5, when multiplied by 2, is about 19 grams short of the
Roman libra, however the object may have
had a
handle at the top and the original
weight must have been fairly close to the
standard. Around the end of the 3rd century CE the local standards were replaced by the
Roman system and the descriptive word ιταλικη was no longer required.
