Brickstamp, Portus Alison E. Cooley AEC/ASHL AN1872.1503.xml Oxford Ashmolean Museum AN1872.1503 AshLI 200 Coll. Ref: 19 Roman catalogue: 383

Half of a circular stamp (0.09) on a fragmentary brick. Brick: 0.11+ 0.067+ 0.036.

There are two lines of letters around the edge of the stamp, running in concentric circles. The centre is damaged.

0.01-0.012 It was excavated from the ‘palazzo imperiale’ at Portus (Lanciana 1870: p.25; MS Accession Register). Hadrianic period (Dressel, in CIL). 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
Duorum Popiliorum Severi et Clementis

Of the two Popilii, Severus and Clemens.

The text can be restored on analogy with other examples of the same stamp, which also include an image of a pine cone.

It is unclear whether we should regard the Popilii as estate owners or manufacturers (Setälä 1977: p.281), but their name suggests an upper-class context.

Lanciani (1870) p.25; Ashmolean Museum Department of Antiquities MS Accession Register 1872.1503(19); CIL XV,1 no.1382,3 (from an impression sent by Waldstein) (Dressel 1891); Bloch 1938: p.101 no.19; Thylander 1952: p.436 B386.13.

Online: EDCS-13600308

Bloch H. 1938 I bolli laterizi e la storia edilizia romana Rome C. Colombo Lanciani R. 1870 II. Scavi. Recenti scoperte nelle vicinanze di Roma. Porto Bullettino dell’Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica 18-25 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