The Bronze Signum from Timacum Maius and its Cultic Attribution

Abstract

The bronze signum discussed in this paper was discovered by archaeological excavation on the site of Timacum Maius in 2010. Found in the area of a luxurious Roman-period building, the artefact shows a tapering body with a central conical socket similar to a spearhead socket. It is one of the twenty-three known signa of the so-called classical-type. Most of them were found in the context of the cult of Jupiter Dolichenus, and we also presume the cultic purpose of the bronze signum from Timacum Maius. A similar find comes from Jupiter Dolichenus’ shrine in Egeta on the Danube limes with an inscription that connects it directly with the Dolichenian cult, and with the First Cohort of Cretans (Cohors I Cretum), the unit which had previously been stationed at Timacus Maius. The signum from Timacum Maius is most likely also connected with the cult of Jupiter Dolichenus and chronologically belongs to a period which is much earlier than the Severan age.