INSCRIBED SLING-BULLETS. 97 



we may derive con*^rtnatinTi of the statement of Cicero, Verr, iv. 44, 

 that there was a temple of the Magna Mater amongst the Enguini, 

 The inscriptions, classed under (6), are generally addresses ta 

 the missile or to the enemy FERI, " strike," is as a direction to 

 the glans not to miss. Mommsen aptly cites, in illustration, a pas- 

 sage from the Marcellus ot Plutarch, c. 8, — Iv rats //,ap(ais, orai/ 

 StwKwcn Toi)s TToAe/xtous, ttvkvov to cjyepi, TourecTTt Traie, TrapeyyvoiaLV 

 oAX'^Xots. Orelli, u. 4932, on the authority of Cardinali, gives 

 another form in which feri is used : — EOMA PERI, which he ex- 

 plains — " dea E.oma, feri hostem !" The reading of this inscrip- 

 tion is doubtful : the first letter seems to be P hot R, and the final 

 A resembles an imperfect P. As the two words are on different 

 sides of the glans, it might appear uncertain with which we should 

 begin. There can be little doubt, however, that /en is the com- 

 mencement, as in another similar inscription, EEEI PIC, i.e. feri 

 Picentes. This consideration should lead us to prefer, with Momm« 

 sen, either Pomj9[eium], scil. the general in command of the Romans 

 in Picenum, or i2o?wa[nos]. AEHAI, " take this," was imitated by 

 the Latin accipe. This latter word appears on a bullet, exhibited 

 by the Count d'Aibanie, at a meeting of the Archseological Institute, 

 in 1863. It is in reversed letters, and has but one C. The cause 

 of the inversion in this and in other similar examples, is that the 

 letters as cut in the mould were not inverted, as they should have 

 been, in order that the impression might be read in the usual direc- 

 tion. 



It is worthy of remark, that the bullet, exhibited by the Count, was 

 ** stated to have been found amongst the scoria of an extensive an- 

 cient lead-working in the kingdom of Granada, It is believed that 

 the mine was worked by the Romans and also by the Celtiberians, 

 and the scoria are still smelted in order to extract portions of silver." 



The letters $AINE appear on the bullet presented by Mr. Hawkins 

 to the Society of Antiquaries of London, and described by him in the 

 article in the Arcliceologia, that I have mentioned in p. 93. In that 

 paper he gives the following account of the inscription : 



It appears to exhibit on one side the characters ^AINfi or *AINE, commen- 

 cing at the smaller or taper end, and extending to the larger, where they are 

 slightly defaced in consequence of the forcible compression of the pellet from 

 impact. If the word be <l>AINOT, or in the Ionic dialect *AINEn, it will mean 

 *' Appear," or '• Show yourself." 



Vol. IX. G 



