Novensia: Studia i Materiały (14.2003)

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168 mm wide and 168 mm deep, was madę of a compact, creamish-white lime-
stone (fig. 1). In terms of ąuality, the stone used here is the best of the four
described. The altar has a marked elegance drawing from the well-considered
proportions of particular elements. Precise execution testifies to the skill of the
stonecutter. Contrasting with the elegant form is the ineptly cut inscription. It
appears to have been sąueezed into a field too smali for it. The letters are too
close to one another, particular signs are not vertical, leaning once to the left,
once to the right. At the end of the third linę, a lack of space resulted in there
being ап “I” instead of an “L” in the abbreviation of the name of Ael(ius). On
the bottom surface of the altar there is evidence of dressing with a toothed chisel
17 mm wide with five 3-mm teeth. On the inner surface of the focus traces of a
pointed chisel survive. The remaining surfaces of the altar were first dressed
with a fiat chisel or very fine toothed chisel, then polished, a treatment that was
very rare in Novae.
The other of the two inscribed altars: “Q-APIDI / YS-SABI 370 mm
high, 164 mm wide and 165 mm deep, was madę of a light-beige porous lime-
stone (fig. 2). The execution is ąuite good considering the ability of a provincial
workshop, although it is not as fine as in the case of the first described object.
The lettering was carved in much the same way, the layout of the inscription
being ąuite inconsistent. The first two lines are ąuite neatly planned, contrasting
strangely with the sąueezed letters in the fifth linę. The lateral sides of the altar
bear a relief decoration - a laurel wreath with teniae on the left side (fig. 4) and
a palm branch on the right (fig. 3). Nonę of the other objects has any sculpted
decoration. The relief is schematic and is not distinguished by any special fine-
ness of execution. Interestingly, while the altar is obviously a finished product,
the junction between the shaft of the altar and its top and bottom is nothing morę
than a flat-chiseled band. The ancient stonecutter refrained from carving the
molding that is freąuently encountered in this spot. On the other hand, there are
shallow niches about 6-9 mm deep and from 87 to 104 mm wide in the base.
They minimize optically the weight of the base, giving the impression of sup-
porting “legs”. This treatment has endowed the object with a feeling of light-
ness, while the “legs”, which correspond in a way to the acroteria on top of the
altar, emphasize the symmetry of the composition. Traces survive on the stone
surface of a toothed chisel 14 mm wide with four teeth, each 2 mm wide. Around
the carved decoration on the lateral walls there is evidence of dressing with a
fiat chisel 12 mm wide.
The anepigraphic altar is 335 mm high, 185 mm wide and 175 mm deep (fig.
5). It was madę of a pale-beige porous limestone. The techniąue of its execution
leaves a great deal to be desired. Uneven and leaning form divisions leave a
jarring impression of instability, as if the altar were about to fali. This is indica-
tive of little experience on the part of the stonecutter, who had trouble tracing
straight lines. Disregarding the imperfections of execution, we fmd that the altar