This fragment of stone in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina came from the base of an honorary monument discovered at Tasovčići, near Čapljina in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was erected to celebrate Octavian’s victory over Sextus Pompey in Sicily in 36 BC, although that perhaps rather understates the amount of fighting involved. I got rather muddled up with all these Caesars, but Octavian styled himself Imperator Caesar Divi Filius, meaning something like “Commander Caesar, son of the divine one”. The divine one was Julius Caesar, who had adopted Octavian as his son and heir and was officially declared a god after his death. Rather nice really.
The monument was erected by two brothers, Gaius Papius Celsus and Marcus Papius Canus. Researchers believe that they were probably merchants associated with nearby Narona, an important Roman settlement and trading centre on the River Neretva. Publicly honouring Octavian may have expressed gratitude or political loyalty, although it probably did the brothers no harm to advertise that they had supported the emerging winner. Some things never change.
Only part of the inscription survives, but there is still enough to preserve the names of the brothers and the ruler they wanted to impress. Octavian would go on to become one of the most famous people in history, while the Papius brothers are remembered largely because they paid for what was effectively a very durable press release.
As for why I stared at this for far too long, I liked the thought that it was erected more than 2,000 years ago, survived everything that followed and is now safely displayed in a museum. Admittedly, a few pieces have fallen off, but after that length of time it is entitled to have developed some minor structural concerns.