Flavius Caecilius Primus, administrator of the fundus Glebonianus (near Thabbora – Africa Proconsularis): agricultural investments and social rise in the Fourth century AD

Study of a new late-antique Latin inscription discovered a few years ago (2014) by Mariette de Vos Raaijmakers in the country of Tunisia near the ancient city of Thabbora (Proconsularis). The text is really interesting both for the palaeography and the epigraphic field, and above all for its content. The inscription probably dates back to the 4th century. It was chiseled on a very high limestone block in honour of a Flavius Caecilius Primus, custos, then actor, then procurator and vir perfectissimus of a never attested before fundus Glebonianus (a non-Latin predial). The text, mutilated at the end, exalts Primus’ commitment and fidelity in the construction of the structures of the new fundus, in the planting of tree crops, in the mprovement of other fundi. He is indicated as a model of devotion to the patrons, probably the very rich Caecilii of the Proconsularis. The authors propose a geographical and archaeological contextualization, and a complete edition of the inscription, with a historical commentary that sheds light on the exploitation of agricultural properties in the fourth century roman Africa and its social aspects.