Tabula Capuana

The ''Tabula Capuana'' ("Tablet from Capua"; Ital. ''Tavola Capuana''), is an ancient terracotta slab, , with a long inscribed text in Etruscan, dated to about 470 bce, apparently a ritual calendar. About 390 words are legible, making it the second-most extensive surviving Etruscan text. (The longest is the linen book ''(Liber Linteus)'', also a ritual calendar, used in ancient Egypt for mummy wrappings, now at Zagreb.) It is located in the Altes Museum, Berlin.

Description

Horizontal scribed lines divide the text into ten sections. The writing is most similar to that used in Campania in the mid 5th century BC, though surely the text being transcribed is much older. The text is boustrophedon, with the first line to be read left to right, the next right to left, etc.

Attempts at deciphering the text (Mauro Cristofani, 1995) are most generally based on the supposition that it prescribes certain rites on certain days of the year at certain places for certain deities. The text itself was edited by Francesco Roncalli, in ''Scrivere etrusco'' 1985.

Recently, a major scholar in the field, Bouke van der Meer has proposed a "very tentative partial word-for-word translation" of the text:

Text example

(/ indicates line break; some word breaks are uncertain)

First section (lines 1-7): MARCH^?

The first legible section likely is devoted to rituals to be held in March (though the Etruscan word for this month, ''Velcitna'', does not occur in the legible text, presumably because it was in the missing parts).

There are three to five initial lines missing and then 30-50 characters missing in the initial damaged lines shown here.

:: ...vacil.../²ai savcnes satiriasa.../³... unθ?ri θuθcu
:: vacil śipir śuri leθamsul
::: ci tartiria /⁴ cim cleva
::::acasri halχtei
:: vacil iceu śuni savlasie...
(~5-8 characters broken off at the end of this line)
::: /⁵ ulri zile picasri
::::savlasieis
:: vacil lunaśie vaca iχnac
::::fuli/⁶nuśnes
:: vacil savcnes itna
::: muluri zile picasri
::::iane
:: vacil l/⁷eθamsul scuvune
::::marzac saca⋮

Notes:
In line 1 and throughout, ''vacil'' may mean "libation" (or some similar rite or ceremony), in which case each of the first phrases beginning with it presumably indicate what deity to pour a libation to and perhaps other information. However, Steinbauer (agreeing with Rix) has challenged this assumptions and, considering that it seems to be positioned at the beginning of a series of phrases within the contexts of a step-by-step instruction, proposed that ''vacil'' (with its variants ''vacal'' and ''vacl'') simply means "then."

In line 2, ''savc-nes'' according to van der Meer is an Apolline god, perhaps related in form to ''saucsaθ'' at 3.15 of the Liber Linteus. The form in the Liber Linteus, preceded as here by the term ''vacl'' "libation," also falls in a section that probably deals with March, though as here there is no explicit mention of a month name. The relevant text from that passage of the Liber Linteus is as follows (3.15-3.17): ''vacl . an . ścanince . saucsaθ . persin / cletram . śrenχve . iχ . ścanince . ciz . vacl / ara'' roughly "The libation which was poured to ''Sauc- Pers-'' (should be performed) with the decorated litter just as it had been poured (before); perform the libation three times."

Note that the ending ''-nes/-nis'' also occurs in the forms ''fulinuś-nes'' (5-6) and caθ-nis (9), all referring to deities.

In line 2, ''satiriasa'' (if one word) may be a form of ''Satre'' the Etruscan term for Saturn, which also appears on the Piacenza Liver among chthonic deities. Or it could be in some way connected to or contrasting with ''tartiria'' at the end of line 3.

In line three, ''śuri'' is a (not necessarily exclusively) chthonic deity.''Leθam-s'' appears on the Piacenza Liver among chthonic deities, but may have other connections as well. The genitive is used here as usual for indirect object.

In lines three and four, ''ci(m)'' means "three," and both ''tartiria'' and ''cleva'' indicate kinds of offerings, yielding a possible partial translation: "To Lethams, three ''tartiria'' (perhaps related to Greek Tartaros, as if '(gifts) for the underworld'?) offerings and three ''cleva'' offerings ..." In line 4, ''halχ-'' is likely the name of a kind of vase.

A verbal form of ''vacil'' may be seen in line 5: ''vac-a'' "make a libation (to)?"; But van der Meer reads ''faca'' here, with unknown meaning. A similar form, ''vac-i'' is in line 28, also preceding a form of '' fuli/nuśnes''. Also in line 5, ''lunaśie'' brings to mind the Roman moon goddess, ''Luna'' (which some equate with ''Cath'', see below).

''pi-cas(ri)'' (5,6) is defined by Pallottino as a verb of offering, to be compared with ''a-cas'' "to do; to offer." ''mulu-'' (4/5, 6) and ''scu-'' (7, 10) seem to be roots meaning "to offer, give" and "finish", respectively; and ''sac-'' means "carry out a sacred act; consecrate." In lines 5 - 6, '' fuli/nuśnes'' may be a form of Fufluns, the Etruscan Dionysus who is associated with the Etruscan goddess ''Caθa'' who also seems to be mentioned in this text (see below). A somewhat similar form, ''fuln olnius' can be found on line 29 of the Tabula Cortonensis.

Note the frequent repetitions (besides ''vacil''): ''savcnes''(2,6); ''leθamsul''(3, 6/7, 8...); ''mulu-ri zile picas-ri''(4/5,6); ''savlasie(is)''(4, 5); ''scu-vune marza(c)''(7) versus ''marza...scuvse''(10)...

Start of second section (starting on line 8): APRIL = ''apirase''

The second section seems to be devoted to rituals to be held in April.

:: iśvei tule ilucve apirase
:::: leθamsul ilucu cuiesχu perpri
::: cipen apires /⁹ racvanies huθ zusle
:: rithnai tul tei
:::: snuza in te hamaiθi
::::: civeis caθnis fan/¹⁰iri
:::: marza in te hamaiθi
::::: ital sacri
::::: utus ecunza
::::: iti alχu
::::::scuvse
:: riθnai tu/¹¹ l tei
::: ci zusle acun siricima nunθeri
::: eθ iśuma zuslevai apire nunθer/¹²i
::::: avθleθ aium
:::: vacil ia leθamsul nunθeri
:::: vacil ia riθnaita
::: eθ aθene/¹³ica perpri...

Notes: Line 8: ''isvei'' occurs frequently in the Liber Linteus where it appears to mean "festival" or "ides". The form''tul(e)''(8, 9, 10) in some contexts means "stone," perhaps related to ''tular'' "border" (< "stone marking a border"?), itself probably related to (or the origin of?) Umbrian ''tuder'' "boundary" also the origin of the Umbrian town name Todi. Here it seems to mean "(on or after) the ides (of a particular month)." According to van der Meer, ''iluc-ve/u'' (twice in line 8) means "feast." Of course, ''iśvei'' and ''tule'' can't both mean "ides," and in any case, the Latin ''ides'' originally fell on the full moon and was sacred to Jupiter, but since the deities recognizable here are underworld (''leθams'' and ''caθ''), ''tul'' may instead refer to the dark phase of the moon, or the new moon (Latin ''kalends''). As van der Meer points out elaborately elsewhere, the contrast between light and dark gods was very important for the Etruscan calendar and for how they divided up the heavens.

''apirase'' may mean "(in the) month of April." See above for ''Leθam-sul''. Van der Meer translates ''pep-ri'' as "must be held." ''cipen'' seems to be a priestly title (with variants ''cepa(r)'', ''cepe(n)'').

''huθ'' in line 9 means "six," and ''ci'' in line 11 means "three." ''zusle(-vai)'' (9, 11) means "sacrificial victims" perhaps specifically "piglets."

At the end of line 9, ''caθ-nis'' may be a form of Catha, an Etruscan goddess, with an ending ''-nis/-nes'' also seen above in other theonymns: ''savc-nes'' (lines 2 and 6) and ''fuli/nuś-nes'' (lines 5-6). Rarely depicted in art, she is number 8 (among celestial gods) and number 23 on the Piacenza Liver.

''sacri'' (10) is certainly connected to words meaning "sacred; victim for sacrifice"—Latin ''sacer'', Umbrian ''sacra'' sakra, Oscan sakri-, and to 'saca' in line 7 above.

''nunθe-ri'' (11 twice) seems to be a verb "invoke" or "offer," with the necessitive ending ''-ri'' also seen in ''pep-ri''(8), ''picas-ri''(5), ''mulu-ri''(4/5), and perhaps ''śu-ri''(3) and ''sac-ri''(10). ''eθ'' (11, 12) means "thus." ''avθ-leθ'' (12) may be related to ''avθa'' "northwind; eagle."

The word ''acun'' in line 11 may be from Greek ''agon'' (ἀγών) originally "struggle," which came to be used as a term for festivals involving competitive sports; compare Latin ''Agonalia'' festivals in honor of Janus in Rome held in January, March, May and December. Later forms show syncope (loss of word-internal vowels): ''acn-es-em'' on the Liber Linteus (10.5)) and ''acn-s . priumn-es'' "the ''agon'' of Priam" on the left side of the Volterna urn.

Third section (lines 18-20): MAY = ''an/mpile''

:: iśvei tule ilucve anp li laruns ilucu huχ
:: śanti huri alχu esχaθ canulis
:: mulu/¹⁹ri zile zizri
::: inpa ...an acasri
:: tiniantule leθamsul ilucu perpri
:: śanti arvus/²⁰ta aius nunθeri

''Larun, Canuli, Tinia'', and ''Aiu'' are names of Etruscan gods; ''huχ'' may mean "celebrate", ''alχu'' "given," ''esχaθ'' "bring, place"; ''arvusta'' "(produce of the) field" (compare Umbrian arvam "field"; arvia "fruits of the field, grain").Bouke Van Der Meer "Some comments on the Tabula Capuana", in: Studi Etruschi 77, 2014 015 149-175. p. 168 Other words have either already been defined above or are of uncertain meaning.

Discovery

The tablet was uncovered in 1898 in the burial ground of Santa Maria Capua Vetere.

References

Sources

*Cristofani, M. ''Tabula Capuana: Un calendario festivo di età arcaica'' (Firenze 1995).
*van der Meer, L. B. "Some comments on the Tabula Capuana", in: Studi Etruschi 77, 2014 015 149-175.

External links

Basic information, adopted for this entry; photograph
(Italian)

{{Etruscans

5th-century BC works
1898 archaeological discoveries
Clay tablets
Etruscan artefacts
Etruscan ceramics
Etruscan inscriptions
Capua (ancient city)
Archaeological discoveries in Italy