Discovered in 1899, though previously known from literary sources, this site was thought in antiquity to represent a certain individual's grave or, at least, the place of his death. However, the inscription, which is the oldest-known example of its kind, seems to have nothing to do with a tomb. What is it, where is it, who was supposed to be buried there, and what does any of this have to do with plowing a field?

zbeckabee

Before I continue on with the plowing of a field...I wanted to see if I'm even close with this: The Lapis Niger (The Black Stone) and the Vulcanal are the only parts of the ancient Comitium that have survived. The sanctuary is located underground between the Curia Julia and the Arch of Septimius Severus on the Forum Romanum. "It was intended to serve as the grave of Romulus, but this intention was not carried out, and in the place of Romulus his foster-father Faustulus was buried; according to others it was the grave of Hostus Hostilius, the father of the third king Tullus Hostilius", but other writers had other explanations." http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/159_Lapis_Niger_and_Vulcanal.html Jun 15 06, 10:25 PM

pu2-ke-qi-ri

Knossos sort of fits-- place of death of the Minotaur, oldest inscriptions in Linear B come from there (Room of the Chariot Tablets, LM II) which are only accounting documents. However, the date is slightly off (Evans started in 1900) and the Knossos myth cycle doesn't have much to do with agriculture. Jun 15 06, 11:03 PM

Gnomon

The plowing of a field is probably because the inscription was written in "boustrophedon". Jun 16 06, 3:17 AM

lanfranco

The Lapis Niger is correct, zbeck, and yes, Gnomon, the inscription is written in boustrophedon -- left to right, then right to left, and so on. It is the oldest example of Latin epigraphy on a monument that we have, dating to around 500 BCE. I was reading an article on archaeological excavation in Rome in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and ran across a brief discussion of the finding of this site. It caused great excitement at the time, but the actual purpose of the place is still unknown. Jun 16 06, 8:16 AM

davejacobs

Incidentally, you don't write 'IN boustophodon' you just write boustrophedon, the word being an adjective rather than a noun. I came across the word surprisingly in an Inspector Morse novel by Colin Dexter, when a cleaner in a church did her job boustrophedon, going along one row of pews and back up the next. Jun 17 06, 9:39 AM

zbeckabee

p.s.--It is actually both...GOOGLE or ASKJEEVES the following: "Boustrophedon noun" and you'll pull up a gazillion reputable sources that support lanfranco's use of the word as a noun. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/bo/boustrophedon.html Jun 17 06, 6:32 PM

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