An Ephebic Dedication from Rhamnous

Abstract

Tr HE inscription under discussion (Fig. 1; P1. 25)1 was found on January 17, 1 1958, by Elizabeth Staples McLeod in the Fortress of Rhamnous in one of the little rooms northwest of the theater and just south of the citadel wall. It was transferred to the Epigraphical Museum in Athens, where it was given the number 13200. It is the upper right corner of a pillar crowned by a cavetto capital, of a white sugary marble; it is completely covered with the reddish brown patina left by the earth of Attica, showing that the breaks at the bottom and left are not modern. H. pres. 0.307 in.; W. pres. 0.155 m.; Th. 0.216 m. Originally a projecting moulding went around the top of the abacus, but it has been completely broken off. The shaft rises vertically front and rear, but tapers inward slightly on the right side. The top is left rough-picked with a claw chisel; the sides and back are more smoothly finished. On the top, near the center of the broken left edge, is part of a dowel hole by which the dedication was secured. The inscription on the abacus begins 0.077 m. down from the top; but the surface between this first preserved line and the moulding at the top is slightly recessed, indicating that three lines have been carefully erased. H. of letters on abacus, 0.007 m.; on shaft, .0.005 m.