Abstract

The text on a brick discovered in Gornea (Romania) is a petition addressed to the primicerius in order to solve a theft committed by Bessa. It was written by Steriu(s) in the New Roman Cursive script, at the end of the 3rd century AD. The text has the structure of a letter, with three main elements: praescriptum, narratio, formula valedicendi. The colloquial forms of some words are used: primicere!, Steriu(s), cunscio. The use of a hapax – teretrum – of Greek origin suggests a possible belonging of the petitioner to the Greco-Oriental world, but it can also be a loanword. The petitioner requests the resolution of the case by recovering the stolen object (a drill) and also by identifying the thief.