A Fragment of Latin Inscription from Tyra

Zubar V. М., Son N. А.

In 1993 a fragment bearing a part of a Latin inscription was sold to a shop in Belgorod- Dnestrovsky of Odessa Region from a private collection. According to its former owner, the fragment was found on the territory of ancient Tyra. The remaining part containing two in- complete lines of the inscription, carved on a coarse-grained marble plaque, may be read as follows: [ ] Vetus / [ ]nus (vel. -mus) pr(aepositus) v[(exillationis) ]. As it appears from the contents, the fragment seems to have constituted a part of an official docu- ment set in Tyra by two Roman officials, one of them having a post of praepositus and head- ing a vexillation. The fragment bears no information for precise dating. Because of its script and the title ofpraepositus mentioned in it, the monument can be dated back to the 2nd half of the 2nd century AD. It is well possible that new parts of this fragmented inscription will be found and either confirm and amplify or disprove the author's conclusions.