The Lapis Satricanus ("Stone of Satricum"), is a yellow stone found in the ruins of the ancient town of

Satricum Satricum (modern Le Ferriere), an ancient town of Latium vetus, lay on the right bank of the Astura river some SE of Rome in a low-lying region south of the Alban Hills, at the NW border of the Pontine Marshes. It was directly accessible from Ro ...

, near Borgo Montello (), a village of southern

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, dated late 6th to early 5th centuries BC. It was found in 1977 during excavations by C.M. Stibbe. It reads: : ''(?)IEI STETERAI POPLIOSIO VALESIOSIO'' : ''SVODALES MAMARTEI'' ("The (?) dedicated this, as companions of Publius Valerius, to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

") This inscription has attracted attention for several reasons. Its language has been identified as

Old Latin Old Latin, also known as Early Latin or Archaic Latin (Classical la, prīsca Latīnitās, lit=ancient Latinity), was the Latin language in the period before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. It descends from a common Proto-Italic ...

or a closely related dialect. 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 Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, Mycenaean and

Homeric Greek Homeric Greek is the form of the Greek language that was used by Homer in the ''Iliad'', ''Odyssey'', and Homeric Hymns. It is a literary dialect of Ancient Greek consisting mainly of Ionic, with some Aeolic forms, a few from Arcadocypriot, and ...

and other languages, it becomes clear that ''-osio'' is a far earlier form. Lapis Satricanus 02

Another point of interest is the presence of the word ''suodales'' (

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later periods ...

sodales The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

''). In historic times, this word referred to a member of a ''sodalitas'', a religious fraternity or brotherhood who met for ritual meals or as a burial organization. "Since the ''suod-'' element in ''suodales'' is cognate with the English word 'swear'", writes Gary Forsythe, "the term suggests that some kind of oath was taken, binding the members of the group together in a common purpose." Forsythe uses this and that this was a dedication to Mars to suggest this indicates the existence of an armed group of sworn followers, similar to "the war bands led by Homeric heroes, the warlike aristocratic companions of the Macedonian kings during the classical period, and the war bands surrounding the Celtic and Germanic chieftains described by Caesar and Tacitus". Forsythe notes this puts a new light on the account of the

Battle of the Cremera A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, an event where the entire

gens Fabia In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

fought as a group the armed men of the rival town of

Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...

only to be tragically defeated.Forsythe, ''A Critical History'', p. 198 A third point of interest to historians and archaeologists of early

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

is the name preserved on the inscription. The archaic name of Poplios Valesios is rendered in Classical Latin as "Publius Valerius". That has led to speculation that the inscription refers to

Publius Valerius Publicola Publius Valerius Poplicola or Publicola (died 503 BC) was one of four Roman aristocrats who led the overthrow of the monarchy, and became a Roman consul, the colleague of Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 BC, traditionally considered the first year o ...

, the

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

ally of

Lucius Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after ...

who dominates the list of early

consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

recorded by the ''

Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Rom ...

'' and is credited, in traditional accounts, as one of the primary founders of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

. Positive identification is at least somewhat problematic because the town of Satricum was not part of Roman territory when Publius Valerius was consul. However, the "lapis" itself may not have been dedicated in Satricum in the first place since it was found as part of a collection of recycled material used in the construction of a temple in the town, and it could well have been imported from elsewhere.

References

External links

Il Lapis Satricanus
(in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

)
Publius Valerius Publicola
{{Authority control Roman archaeology Latin inscriptions History of Rome Latin epigraphy