Abstract

When dealing with Latin sacred inscriptions, the systematic examination of the gifts donated to the superior powers has so far been neglected. This requires, more than ever before, a dialogue between epigraphy and archaeology, which focuses on the materiality of the artefact carrying the script. The article, which results from a lecture given as part of a guest professorship at Paris under the title „Les inscriptions latines sacrées: épigraphie et archéologie en dialogue“, focuses on the vessels donated to higher powers in a religious context. While a total of 400 different vessel names are known from ancient written sources, only 17 of these are also attested in sacred inscriptions. The 40 relevant inscriptions – publicly displayed dedications as well as curse tablets – are analysed with regard to the characterisation of the gifts, the addressees and dedicators.