Lapis Satricanus
Lapis Satricanus | |
---|---|
Stone | |
Created | late 6th or early 5th century BC |
Discovered | 1977 Lazio, Italy |
Language | Old Latin |
The Lapis Satricanus ("Stone of Satricum"), is a yellow stone found in the ruins of the ancient town of Satricum, near Borgo Montello (41°31′N 12°47′E / 41.517°N 12.783°E), a village of southern Lazio, dated late 6th to early 5th centuries BC.[1] It was found in 1977 during excavations by C.M. Stibbe.[1]
Content
It reads:
- (?)IEI STETERAI POPLIOSIO VALESIOSIO
- SVODALES MAMARTEI[2]
("The (?) dedicated this, as companions of Publius Valerius, to Mars")
Points of interest
Old Latin origins
This inscription has attracted attention for several reasons. Its language has been identified as Old Latin or a closely related dialect.[3] It is important for comparative Indo-European grammar, as it is the only Latin inscription to show the ending -osio for the genitive singular of the thematic noun declension. Latin later has -ī as the ending for this case, but by comparison with Sanskrit, Mycenaean and Homeric Greek and other languages, it becomes clear that -osio is a far earlier form.[4]
Usage of word suodales
Another point of interest is the presence of the word suodales (
Inscribed names
A third point of interest to historians and archaeologists of early
References
- ^ ISBN 978-90-12-02951-3.
- ^ CIL I2 2832a
- ISBN 978-3-11-017208-9.
- ISBN 90-272-1185-X.
- ^ Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome (Berkeley: University of California, 2005), p. 199
- ^ Forsythe, A Critical History, p. 198
- ISBN 978-1-107-09357-7.