<i>Heu male tum Libyæ solis erratur in agris</i> : the Punic tribunate at the Bir ed-Dreder necropolis

Abstract In this paper the Latinate gentilicia Flavius and Iulius , as well as the rank tribunus with its Punic equivalent, found in the Latino-Punic sub-corpus from the necropolis at Bir ed-Dreder are discussed. The texts date roughly to the mid fourth century AD, and attest to the continued survival of Punic in the Tripolitanian pre-desert, also in an official Roman context. While the inscriptions are difficult to understand, direct Latin influence is limited to these three nouns related to their service in the Roman army. The Roman military rank tribunus could, however, also be rendered in Punic. By all accounts, knowledge of Latin was still at best limited in this region during early Late Antiquity.