![]() Olaf College classics professor Kyle Helms, offers a brilliant solution. (Her edition identified nine texts, but subsequent analysis has redivided the archeological evidence into eleven distinct examples.) Since then and apart from their inclusion in the Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Africa, they have barely been studied.Ī new article, published in the latest issue of the prestigious Journal of Roman Studies by St. They were first noted in the 19th century, but they remained undeciphered until Jacqueline Calzini Gysens published an edition of them in 1987. ![]() ![]() The inscriptions-11 in total-were found scratched onto the north wall of the passageway (known as the theater tunnel) that connects the ancient theater complex with the Via Stabiana, one of the main roads that led in and out of the city. Other than “volcanic stuff” (the black desert is so called because it is made of basalt) it’s difficult to see what Pompeii and the Ḥarrah have in common. Prior to the Pompeiian discovery Safaitic had never been seen in the Western Mediterranean much less the Italian Peninsula. The script was used by the nomads who populated the region and bred camels, sheep, and goats. and the fourth century A.D.-but they are found in Ḥarrah, the black desert that stretches from southern Syria, down through northeast Jordan, and into northern Saudi Arabia. Scholars have plenty of Safaitic inscriptions-over 34,000 were written between the first century B.C. They are written in Safaitic, a south Semitic script that records a dialect of Old Arabic. Part of the reason for the neglect of these unique inscriptions is the mystery surrounding their origins. For almost 35 years the inscriptions were a mystery: Who wrote them? And, frankly, what are they doing there? A new article published last month promises to unlock their secrets. These graffiti were written in an obscure form of Old Arabic otherwise completely unknown in the Western Mediterranean. But they might actually be Pompeii’s best-kept secret and one of its greatest mysteries. After all, next to the brightly colored and pornographic frescos of the tragic city’s brothels and the remains of people and animals frozen in time and volcanic ash, inscriptions seem almost boring. In 1987 some clusters of mysterious graffiti found on the walls of Pompeii’s theater tunnel were published in an academic journal. Image credit: Flickr user Roller Coaster Philosophy. These quotes were were recorded in a comprehensive, multi-volume collection of Latin inscriptions called Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, which was first published in in 1857. For some firmly NSFW examples, do go here. In the interest of avoiding hardcore lewdness and profanity, I’ve omitted some of the truly vulgar defacements. ![]() “I wonder, O wall, that you have not yet collapsed, so many writers’ clichés do you bear.” This phrase seems to have been a popular one, as slightly different versions of it appear in multiple locations throughout Pompeii’s ruins. “Admiror, O paries, te non cecidisse, qui tot scriptorium taedia sustineas.” “The petty thieves request the election of Vatia as adele.” In ancient Pompeii, an “adele” was an elected official who supervised markets and local police, among other things. “If only similar swindling would dupe you, innkeeper: you sell water, and drink the undiluted wine yourself.” 9. “Talia te fallant utinam medacia, copo: tu vedes acuam et bibes ipse merum.” “Virgula to Teritus: You are a nasty boy.” 7. If you ask ‘why?’ There was no chamber pot.” Found inside an inn. “Oppius, you’re a clown, a thief, and a cheap crook.” 5. “Apollinaris, doctor to the emperor Titus, had a good crap here.” In Latin profanity, “cacatne” pertained to defecation. “Apollinaris, medicus Titi Imperatoris hic cacavit bene.” See if any of these remind you of a twenty-first century bathroom. When the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were suddenly consumed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E., many of their buildings were so intimately preserved that modern archaeologists can even read the graffiti scribbled onto their ancient walls.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |