Brickstamp, Portus Alison E. Cooley AEC/ASHL AN1872.1502.xml Oxford Ashmolean Museum AN1872.1502 AshLI 199 Coll. Ref: 18 Roman catalogue: 382

A circular, orbicular stamp (0.099), damaged on one side, with a large orbiculus (0.035) extending into the central section of the stamp. Brick: 0.11+ 0.115+ 0.026+

There are two lines of letters around the edge of the stamp, running in concentric circles. The lettering on much of the outer line is rather worn. In the centre is an image of a trident, within a circular frame. In line 2, the O in COS is much smaller than the other letters (0.004). In line 1, VL and NI are ligatured in other copies of the stamp, and in line 2 the letters ET are visibly ligatured in this example.

0.01-0.012 (line 1); 0.01 + 0.004 (line 2). It was excavated at Portus, in the southern part of the ‘palazzo imperiale’ (Lanciani 1868: p.175). AD 154 (consular date). This brickstamp was part of a collection of brickstamps from Rome, Ostia, and Portus given to the Ashmolean by J.H. Parker, Keeper of Antiquities in the Ashmolean Museum (1870-84), after a visit to Rome in the winter months of 1871/2. It is currently in store. Photograph Photograph Photograph
opus doliare ex praedis Lucillae Veri ab Ulpio Anicetiano Commodo et Laterano consulibus

Brick-product from the estate of Lucilla wife of Verus, produced by Ulpius Anicetianus. In the consulship of Commodus and Lateranus.

Landowner Domitia Lucilla Minor (PIR2 D183; Raepsaet-Charlier 1987: p.290 no.329) was mother of emperor Marcus Aurelius, and wife of M. Annius Verus (Setälä 1977: p.108-09) (cf. AN1872.1512, 1872.1515, 1872.1515a). Her family, the Domitii, were prominent in brick manufacturing during the first and second centuries AD (Helen 1975: p.100). The officinator Ulpius Anicetianus also appears, similarly with the mark of a trident, on stamps produced for Marcus Aurelius and Faustina (CIL XV, 1 no.719).

Ashmolean Museum Department of Antiquities MS Accession Register 1872.1502 (18); CIL XV.1 no.1086, 13 (from an impression sent by Waldstein) (Dressel 1891); Thylander 1952: p.440 B387.10.

Online: EDCS-36100211 [accessed 26/03/15]

Helen T 1975 Organization of Roman Brick Production in the First and Second Centuries AD. An interpretation of Roman brick stamps Helsinki Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae Dissertationes Humanarum Litterarum 5 Lanciani R. 1868 Ricerche topografiche sulla città di Porto Annali dell’ Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica 40 144-95 Raepsaet-CharlierM-Th. 1987 Prosopographie des femmes de l’ordre sénatorial (Ier-IIe siècles) Leuven Peeters Setälä P. 1977 Private Domini in Roman Brick Stamps of the Empire. A Historical and Prosopographical Study of Landowners in the District of Rome Helsinki Academia Scientiarum Fennica Thylander H. 1952 Inscriptions du port d’Ostie Lund Gleerup