Ancient Sundials

Dialface ID 69

ObjID73-1

Holder:: Musei Vaticani, Vatican City, Vatican City
Site:: Rome, Italy
Material:: Marble, Luna
Dating:: after 8 BC
Type:: Sphere, Spherical-hemispherical--central gnomon point
Inventory Number:: II 90 2439
Site Geolocation:: Lat.: 41.8034, Long.: 12.689

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Abstract

In contrast to its richly engraved and inscribed dialface, the remains of this sundial’s corpus shows no additional adornment. The lower part is broken off and might have had a round shape, as is indicated by the bottom plane remains. Gibbs: There is no trace of a gnomon hole in the top edge of this dial. The rough surface at the front suggests that the face was once a complete hemisphere. If this was the case, then the gnomon could have been mounted in the bottom of the dial as S. Piale indicates, or in the top edge of the portion which is now broken away.

Measurements

Measurement record: pipeline ObjID 73, matched to this dialface by inventory number.

This object is registered in the measurement database, but its own record holds no measured values.

References

– Diels, Herrmann, Antike Technik, Leipzig and Berlin, 1920, p. 168 ff (drawings).
– Scott Gatty, Margaret, The Book of Sun-dials, London, 1900, p. 34 f (drawing).
– Gibbs, Sharon L., Greek and Roman Sundials, New Haven and London, 1976, p. 68, p. 183.
– 1307.
– Lippold, Georg, Die Skulpturen des Vaticanischen Museums, Berlin, 1956, p. 223, no. 90 and table 102 (photograph).
– Piale, Stefano, - Correspondency, Rome, 1805, p. 102 ff (drawings).
– Severino, Nicola, De Monumentis Gnomonicis apud graecos et romanos. Le meridiane greco-romane. La storia, il catalogo, gli articoli, Roccasecca, 2003, p. 40.