Is 1
| Transliteration | la.i..v.n.a.i. v.rot.a..i. |
|---|---|
| Object | bronze vessel |
| Script | Isonzian Venetic alphabet |
| Language | Venetic |
| Writing direction | dextroverse |
| Technique | incised |
| Condition | non-fragmentary |
| Findspot | Idrija pri Bači |
| Archaeological context | grave |
| Archaeological culture | the Sveta Lucija Hallstatt cultural group |
| Date | 4th-3rd c. BC |
Original text
Commentary
The artefact is a small bronze vessel. Height: 45, diameter: 135. Under the outer brim there is a band decorated with triangles crossed by lines. There are traces of a handle that was fixed with a tack. The artefact comes from the tomb number 14. The inscription is carved with very light strokes and is under the decorative band. It measures 115. The height of the letters varies between 9 and 12. It should be noted that the inscription is not perfectly continuous and that the unwritten space separates the two words.
The initial character in the form of venetic tau probably serves a decorative purpose and is not part of the inscription. The use of an archaic form of heta in contrast to already latinized tau is peculiar. What is also unusual is that alpha precedes and follows a punctuation. It should also be noted that omicron has a rhombic shape with a protruding hasta. It is very likely that heta is used to denote .i., because the signs of heta and .i. were previously confused for one another, probably due to one of the variations for heta being similar to punctuated i.
The text is a gamonym expressed in dative, probably dative of possession with reference to the object. It cannot be excluded that it is a name of a deity.
Bibliography
B. Pellegrini & A. L. Prosdocimi (1967). La lingua venetica. Padova: Istituto di glottologia dell´Università di Padova, Circolo linguistico fiorentino, pp. 591–597.
