A bronze disc, a kind of plate (dimensions: diam. 11.29 cm; thickness 2.9 cm; weight 345.5 g.) was discovered fortuitously at the archaeological site of Siddai 'e Susu, in the Dorgali area (fig. 1) made with the casting mould technique.

Fig. 1 - View from above of the Siddai-Dorgali site
(from DELUSSU, IBBA 2012, fig. 1, p. 2196).

An almost complete Latin inscription is on the front of this metal plate, in which the prefect of Rome’s vigiles Egnatuleius Anastasius is mentioned with the title of vir clarissimus, while the rear, devoid of text, shows defects resulting from its manufacture (figs. 2, 3).

Figs. 2, 3 - DBronze Disc with late Roman Age inscription from Siddai-Dorgali (from DELUSSU, IBBA 2012, fig. 2, p. 2197).

Every single word of the text, engraved with regular and elegant letters, is separated by a full stop and seven stylized ivy leaves, roughly oval in shape (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4 - Bronze Disc with late Roman Age inscription from Siddai-Dorgali (from http://www.museoarcheologicodorgali.it/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/15.png).

Based on a series of clues deduced from the text, the disc’s year of manufacture should fall within the time period ranging between 326 and 337 A.D., which corresponds to the period of time when the prefect of alleged African origin, who commissioned it, was in office. It is therefore highly probable that the inscription which recalls the prefect of the vigiles was engraved on a bronze disc walled-in on a building which is now destroyed. The artefact is on display in the Archaeological Museum of Dorgali.