Cippus Perusinus

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Cippus Perusinus

The Cippus Perusinus is an Etruscan stele from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. And served as a landmark. The stele was named after the place where it was found in Perugia and is now in the National Archaeological Museum of Umbria in Perugia. The fourth longest text in Etruscan language is engraved on the stele . The inscription regulates the division and use of a property between two Etruscan families.

description

The travertine stele is 1.49 m high, 54 cm long and 24.5 cm wide. It was found in 1822 on the San Marco hill near Perugia. The base of the boundary stone is widened and roughly hewn. It was originally located below the surface of the earth, so that only the polished upper part of the stele could be seen. The designation of the stone as a cippus is misleading as a cippus denotes an Etruscan tombstone.

The inscription is written in an Etruscan script with letters, as it is typical for northern Etruria between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. Are. As is customary in Etruscan writing, the inscription is read from right to left. Often there is a line break in a word, e.g. B. with V-ELTHINA in line 15/16 and TH-AURA in line 20/21. In total, the inscription comprises 46 lines with about 125 words.

The front surface contains 24 lines, which are divided into four paragraphs, recognizable by the text gaps at the left end of the paragraph in lines 8, 11 and 19. In the first line, the letters are larger than those of the following, one letter is missing on the left and right. In line 12, the text is indented on the right and appears to follow line 13 in terms of content. The side area comprises 22 lines. The words are separated here by a point, while on the front, points are only used to mark special text passages. A correction was made in line 9 at the left end of the page and a letter was deleted again.

inscription

Cippus Perusinus front view

Front view

  1. [T] EURAT • TANMA • LA • REZU [L]
  2. AME VACHR LAUTN • VELTHINAŚ E
  3. ŚTLA AFUNAŚ SLELETH CARU
  4. TEZAN FUŚLERI TESNŚ TEIŚ
  5. RAŚNEŚ IPA AMA HEN NAPER
  6. XII VELTHINATHURAŚ ARAŚ PE
  7. RAŚC EMULM LESCUL ZUCI EN
  8. ESCI EPL TULARU •
  9. AULEŚI • VELTHINAŚ ARZNAL CL
  10. ENŚI • THII • THIL ŚCUNA • CENU E
  11. PLC • FELIC LARTHALŚ AFUNEŚ
  12. CLEN THUNCHULTHE
  13. FALAŚ • CHIEM FUŚLE • VELTHINA
  14. HINTHA CAPE MUNICLET MASU
  15. NAPER • ŚRANCZL THII FALŚTI V
  16. ELTHINA HUT • NAPER • PENEZŚ
  17. MASU • ACNINA • CLEL • AFUNA VEL
  18. THINAM LERZINIA • INTE MAME
  19. R • CNL • VELTHINA • ZIA ŚATENE
  20. TESNE • ECA • VELTHINATHURAŚ TH
  21. AURA HELU TESNE RAŚNE CEI
  22. TESNŚ TEIŚ RAŚNEŚ CHIMTH ŚP
  23. EL THUTA ŚCUNA AFUNA MENA
  24. HEN • NAPER • CI CNL HARE UTUŚE
Cippus Perusinus side view

Side view

  1. VELTHINA • Ś
  2. ATENA • ZUC
  3. I • ENESCI • IP
  4. A • ŚPELANE
  5. THI • FULUMCH
  6. VA • ŚPELTHI •
  7. RENETHI • EŚT
  8. AC • VELTHINA
  9. ACILUNE •
  10. TURUNE • ŚC
  11. UNE • ZEA • ZUC
  12. I • ENESCI • ATH
  13. UMICŚ • AFU
  14. NAŚ • PENTHN
  15. A • AMA • VELTH
  16. INA • AFUNA
  17. THURUNI • A
  18. ZERI UNA • CL
  19. A • THIL • THUNCH
  20. ULTHL I APPROX
  21. CECHA ZICHUCH
  22. E.

interpretation

The text is apparently a copy of an archive document. An agreement is recorded between the two families VELTHINA and AFUNA mentioned in lines 2 and 3 on the distribution or use of a property on which a family grave of the Velthinas is located. The origin of the families is not mentioned, but a Velthina family from Persna (Perugia) is documented and the Afuna family seems to come from the neighboring Clevsin ( Chiusi ). The representative of the Afuna family is called LARTH AFUNA in line 11, the representative of the Velthina family could be AULE VELTHINA, son (CLEN) of ARZNA, after line 9.

Line 1 names a judge or witness (EURAT) with the name Larth or Laris Rezu (LA REZU). A Larth Rezu is epigraphically documented in Perugia by inscriptions . In his presence, the two families conclude an agreement (VACHR). According to lines 4 and 5, the agreement is made according to Etruscan law (TESNŚ TEIŚ RAŚNEŚ). The Etruscans called themselves RASNA. The word NAPER in the following lines probably describes a measure of area. The figure XII in line 6 probably expresses that a total of 12 units of area were negotiated. Line 8 expressly mentions limits (TULARU). The grave of the Velthinas (VELTHINATHURAŚ THAURA) is also the subject of the contract and is mentioned in lines 20 and 21. On the side in lines 13 to 15, the stele is apparently designated as the property of the Afunas (AFUNAŚ PENTHNA AMA). The final word ZICHUCHE on the side could mean “as written down” and refer to a written document that was the template for the inscription on the stele.

Numerous treatises have been written about the exact content of the agreement in the last few decades. There is broad agreement on the following points: The arbitration verdict of a Larth Rezu on the stele ended a dispute over a plot of land the size of 12 Naper, which was between the Velthinas area and the property of the Larth Afuna. The Velthina family claimed this land for themselves because their family grave was located there. The arbiter divided the area in such a way that the Velthinas kept their family grave, but had to recognize the ownership of the Afunas. Since the stele with the arbitration award is expressly designated as the property of the Afunas, the appeal to the arbitral tribunal seems to have been made by the Afunas.

The exact division of the property is controversial. The Etruscan numerals HUT for 4 or 6 in line 16 and CI for 3 in line 24 appear in the inscription , both with the area measure NAPER. Possibly NAPER ŚRANCZL in line 15 stands for 12 surface units or MASU in line 14 relates to NAPER. If MASU stands for 5 and HUT means 4, then with CI 3 it would be a total of 12 NAPERs. Further details recorded in the inscription about the settlement to be made between the parties have also not been clarified.

literature

  • Ambros Josef Pfiffig : Investigations on the Cippus Perusinus. In: Studi Etruschi. Volume 29, 1961, pp. 111-154.
  • Ulrich Manthe : An Etruscan arbitration award. On the interpretation of the Cippus Perusinus. In: Revue internationale des droits de l'antiquité. Volume 26, 1979, pp. 261-305.

See also

Web links

Commons : Cippus Perusinus  - collection of images, videos and audio files