Alcune osservazioni sull’impiego del segno L in luogo di ἔτος in iscrizioni sepolcrali greche di Roma

Abstract

This article examines the attestations of the L sign used to indicate ἔτος (and related cases) in Greek
funerary inscriptions of Imperial Rome. Although widely attested in the epigraphic and papyrological
documentation of Greco-Roman Egypt, this sign is almost entirely absent in other geographical
contexts. Through the survey of printed repertories and epigraphic databases (EDR, EDB),
a group of urban inscriptions has been identified in which the L sign is used to indicate the number
of years lived by the deceased. Based on the analysis of this material, the study assesses whether
this sign could suggest a connection between the individuals mentioned in the inscriptions and
the Egyptian cultural milieu.

Keywords: funerary inscriptions, Imperial ages, Rome, sign used to indicate ἔτος, Greco-Roman Egypt.