Submitted for award of PhD September 2006. - King's College London

own magistrates, but was represented by and was under the control of public
magistrates. 546 Therefore Poccetti's suggestion that the meddices x were a board of
ten magistrates of the vereia lacks foundation. The interpretations of Prosdocimi,
identifying the meddices x with the meddices degetasii, financial magistrates, and
that of Campanile that the letter x refers to the number of public magistrates, seem to
be equally possible. The subordination of the office of meddix x to the meddix v is
suggested by the omission of the name or names of the officers.
4.4. The vereia
The third problem is the interpretation of the word vereia. The term appears
only in Oscan epigraphic evidence and therefore seems an entirely Italic institution.
The expression is attested five times in full in inscriptions:
1. ST Cm 9, from Cumae (see above).
2. ST Cp 32, from Capua (for text see section 3.3). This inscription
mentions that the iüvilas sacrifices are conditional upon the presence of a
meddix representing the vereia.
3. ST Po 3, from Pompeii (for text see section 6.3.4). This inscription
mentions the construction of a building for the vereia from the money
left in
his will by Vibius Atranus son of Vibius. The Pompeian quaestor supervised
the building according to the order of one of the Pompeian councils.
4. ST Fr 2, Ve 173, Pi 42, Co 193 and Bu 61, from the territory of the
Frentani. On a sword shaped bronze plate.
vereias: lüvkanateis. 2aapas:
kaias: palanüd.
545
ST tSa 24. See section 2.4.2.
546
See also sections 3.3 and 6.3.4.
152