I Magistri Mercuriales Augustales e gli Augustales Mercuriales di Grumentum: alcune osservazioni in base a una nuova iscrizione rinvenuta nella Villa romana di Baricelle di Marsicovetere (Potenza)

Near Barricelle of Marsicovetere (Potenza) the archaeological excavations of the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Basilicata have brought to light the pars rustica of a large Roman villa, belonging to the powerful senatorial gens of the Bruttii Praesentes. The villa, built between the Augustan age and the early imperial age, has had a long life, with many destruction and reconstruction phases, until at least the seventh century A.D. In one of these phases, probably between the fourth and fifth century A.D., a large slab with a Latin inscription, taken from a Roman funerary monument placed in a nearby necropolis, was reused as building material in one of the rooms of the villa. The text is very important because it reminds an Augustalis Mercurialis, a member of a collegium that took charge of the imperial cult, and helps us to understand better the establishment and evolution of this cult.