SZ-24 antler

edit with form

Object
Classification:	unidentifiable
Material:	antler
Size:	length 8 cm
Condition:	fragmentary
Archaeological culture:	Late Iron Age
Site:	Sanzeno (Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy)
Coordinates (approx.):	46° 21' 57.60" N, 11° 4' 30.00" E [from site]
Find date:	1908
Find circumstances:	construction works
Current location:	Castello del Buonconsiglio (lost)
Inscription:	SZ-24 (]θ̣nasleθua)
Sources:	Weber 1908: 230–213 [No. 5] with drawing Mayr 1957c: 426 with photo

Images

Object SZ-24 antler with inscription SZ-24 given by Mayr (1957).

Object SZ-24 antler with inscription SZ-24 given by Weber (1908).

Commentary

Antler fragment.
Lengthwise sawed through; the curved upper side is not worked and therefore rough. On one end broken; probably at this end perforated. Dimensions: length 8 cm. Concerning the photo the narrow end could be considered original. The object description is related to the description as well as the photo given by Mayr (cp. Mayr 1957c: 426).
Along an inscription from right to left whereas the beginning of the entire inscription is missing.
The antler fragment was found in Sanzeno during construction works for the new local train, the Ferrovia dell'Alta Anaunia, in 1908.
In relation to the other findings of Sanzeno the antler fragment can be dated to the Late Iron Age, i.e. from the 5th to the 1st centuries BC. This age determination corresponds also to the cultural context of the Raetic inscriptions.
As mentioned above the antler fragment was found in 1908 during the works for the Ferrovia dell'Alta Anaunia. Already in the same year Simone Weber published the findings whereas he mentioned that "alcuni (...) andarono dispersi fra gli operai, e solo altri pochi vennero consegnati all'impresa" (cp. Weber 1908: 230). The present antler fragment is listed with No. 5 and also a drawing of the object was made by Weber (see the drawing above). However, further information like depository was not indicated by Weber. In the PID the antler fragment is mentioned below the "Addenda" with No. 240 bis. Whatmough included the antler fragment by an advice of Giuseppe Gerola from Trento. As Whatmough noted in the PID, Gerola called Whatmough's attention to Weber's study as well as he displayed a photo of the object to him. But, an autopsy of the object resp. the inscription was apparently not realised. Cp. PID: 628. In his study of 1957 Mayr examined the antler fragment again. The Castello del Buonconsiglio is indicated as repository, however already untraceable in his day (cp. Mayr 1957c: 426). On the basis of an old foto provided by the Soprintendenza in Trento, he realised his study. This photo is reproduced in Mayr's study (see the photo above). Later scholars followed the indications given by Mayr, e.g. Schumacher, Nothdurfter and Mancini. Therefore the Castello del Buonconsiglio is noted as repository, but also the untraceability of the object (cp.: Schumacher 2004: 137 [SZ-24]; Nothdurfter 2002: 1151 [list 3, below No. 8]; LIR: 95–96 [SA-27]). However, in the recently released study about the Raetic inscriptions by Marchesini the object resp. the inscription is listed with the indication "Innsbuck, Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum (...). Dispersa" (cp. MLR: 214 [MLR 241]). According to the references and in particular including the importance of Giuseppe Gerola related to the collections and findings in the Italian province Trentino, the Ferdinandeum can be excluded as repository. More than likely the antler fragment was part of the collection of the Castello del Buonconsiglio. And also the study and autopsy by the team of the Thesaurus Inscriptionum Raeticarum have shown that the object is not traceable anymore at the Castello del Buonconsiglio. Furthermore, concerning the findings from Sanzeno there is no object from the year 1908 anymore traceable. Only findings from 1927 (excavation by Ghislanzoni) and from the excavations by Fogolari realised in 1950–51, 1953 and 1955 are still available. Therefore the antler must be considered as lost.
Due to the fact that the object is lost, the indications follow the information given in literature (cp. below the bibliography) and the advices, in particular concerning Giuseppe Gerola, kindly provided by the Castello del Buonconsiglio.

S.K.

Bibliography

LIR	Alberto Mancini, Le Iscrizioni Retiche [= Quaderni del dipartimento di linguistica, Università degli studi di Firenze Studi 8–9], Padova: Unipress 2009–10. (2 volumes)
Mayr 1957c	Karl M. Mayr, "Hirschhornvotiv mit rätischer Inschrift aus Sanzeno am Nonsberg", Der Schlern 31 (1957), 426–427.