Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers' ideals

Although the polychromy of ancient statuary has become a regular topic in archaeological discussions, in part thanks to archaeometrical analyses, little attention has been given to such aspects in the field of epigraphy. The aim of this paper is to identify analytically the red pigments employed in inscriptions from southeastern Sicily in the Roman period (1st-6th c. CE), and to investigate the relationship between actual material practice and ancient terminology. Minimally invasive identification of cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) on some funerary and honorific inscriptions aligns with Pliny’s statement on the use of “minium”. However, other less expensive lead-containing pigments were detected, suggesting that different materials were used in different contexts and according to various practices. It appears from this preliminary study that choices of ancient red pigments can provide additional information for understanding epigraphic cultures.