AN EPIGRAPHIC MONUMENT DEDICATED TO LIBER PATER RECENTLY FOUND AT AMPELUM
AN EPIGRAPHIC MONUMENT DEDICATED TO LIBER PATER RECENTLY FOUND AT AMPELUM

Summary/Abstract: This paper describes and transcribes a Roman inscription- bearing altar. The photo of the altar was founded in the PC of a culprit searched for illegal prospections in archaeological sites. The culprit declared that the piece was excavated in the area of the former Copper Processing Factory from Zlatna (Alba County), well known as the former area of municipium Ampelum, the residence of the gold and silver mining administration of Dacia. The fragmentary monument, dedicated to the Liber Pater by a certain Iulius, is missing now (wanted by the Romanian Police). The characteristics of the text and the aspect of the decorated surfaces suggest that it was made by an urban craftsman with experience. The altar may have originated from the municipium Ampelum. Although the great number of Roman vestiges, especially with inscriptions or figurative reproductions (statues, altars, funerary monuments etc.) placed Ampelum, both the settlement and necropolis, among the most dynamic urban centers of the province. The paper is also focused on the problematic of the inefficient protection of the cultural heritage.

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