The
Lapis Niger (trans.
Black Stone) is the black marble covering and concrete enclosure, the modern presentation of an
ancient RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
monument and shrine. Possibly built by
Julius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar , , was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
during his reorganization of the
ForumThe Roman Forum , sometimes known by its original Latin name, is located between the Palatine hill and the Capitoline hill of the city of Rome. It is the central area around which the ancient Roman civilization developed...
and
ComitiumThe comitium was the nerve center of the forum valley in ancient Republican Rome. It had major religious and prophetic significance. It was the location for all political and judicial activity of the early Roman Kingdom and Republic. The word itself means "place of assembly...
space, or
Tullus Hostiliusthumb|250px|Tullus Hostilius defeating the army of [[Veii]] and [[Fidenae]], modern fresco.Tullus Hostilius was the third of the Kings of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius, and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius...
, during his construction of the Curia Hostilia. The shrine is constructed, partially around and on top of, a sacred spot with a more ancient altar with even older artifacts. The name may have originally referred to a black stone stele with the earliest known Latin inscription found next to the remains of a shrine from a later period. Located in the
ComitiumThe comitium was the nerve center of the forum valley in ancient Republican Rome. It had major religious and prophetic significance. It was the location for all political and judicial activity of the early Roman Kingdom and Republic. The word itself means "place of assembly...
in front of the
Curia JuliaThe Curia Hostilia, was the original Senate House of the Roman Republic. It is believed to have been constructed during the reign of Hostus Hostilius, and rebuilt by Tullus Hostilius. The spot has held earlier buildings hosting a similar function as far back as the Roman Monarchy. It appears to...
in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, this structure survived for centuries due to a combination of overbuilding during the era of the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
and the chaos of
Rome's fallThe decline of the Roman Empire refers to both the gradual disintegration of the economy of Rome and the barbarian invasions that were its final doom...
.
Mentioned in many ancient descriptions of the
Roman ForumThe Roman Forum , sometimes known by its original Latin name, is located between the Palatine hill and the Capitoline hill of the city of Rome. It is the central area around which the ancient Roman civilization developed...
dating from the
Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a republican form of government. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, c...
and the early days of the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
, the significance of the site has changed over a period of time, but is always discussed as a spot of great meaning to the Romans. The Lapis Niger was rediscovered in the very late 19th century by Italian
archaeologistArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
Giacomo BoniGiacomo Boni is an Italian name and may refer to:*Giacomo Boni , specialist in Roman architecture*Giacomo Boni , Baroque painter...
. It is the site of the oldest known
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
inscription.
History
The site dates back to either the Monarchy of Rome, as the inscription refers to a king (
rex), or to the early Roman Republic, as the same inscription might refer to the
rex sacrorum, an early Republic high religious official. At some point, the Romans forgot the original significance of the shrine. This led to several conflicting origin stories for the shrine. Romans believed the Lapis Niger marked either the grave of the first king of Rome
Romulus- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of a Roman emperor*Romulus *St. Romulus of Genoa, bishop of Genoa*St...
, or the spot he was murdered by the senate he put into place; the grave of Hostus Hostilius, father of King
Tullus Hostiliusthumb|250px|Tullus Hostilius defeating the army of [[Veii]] and [[Fidenae]], modern fresco.Tullus Hostilius was the third of the Kings of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius, and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius...
; or the location where
FaustulusIn Roman mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the infants Romulus and Remus, who were being suckled by a she-wolf, known as Lupa, on the Palatine Hill. He, with his wife Acca Larentia, raised the children. In some versions of the myth, Larentia was a prostitute...
, foster father of Romulus, fell in battle.
Earliest writings referring to this spot regard it as a
suggestum where the early Kings of Rome would speak to the crowds at the forum and to the senate. The two altars are common at shrines throughout the early Roman or late Etruscan period.
Description
The Lapis Niger went through several incarnations. The initial versions were destroyed by fire or the sacking of the city and buried under the slabs of black marble. It is believed this was done by Sulla; however, it has also been argued that
Julius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar , , was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
may have buried the site during his re-alignment of the
ComitiumThe comitium was the nerve center of the forum valley in ancient Republican Rome. It had major religious and prophetic significance. It was the location for all political and judicial activity of the early Roman Kingdom and Republic. The word itself means "place of assembly...
.
The original version of the site consisted of a black marble square
steleA stele is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief A stele inscribed with old Latin inscriptions dedicating the shrine to a
rex or king, and leveling grave curses at anyone who dares disturb the shrine. It is believed that an altar, of which only the base still survives, was added some time later. In front of the altar are two bases, which may also have been added separately from the main altar. The antiquarian
Verrius FlaccusMarcus Verrius Flaccus , was a Roman grammarian and teacher, flourished under Augustus and Tiberius.-Life:He was a freedman, and his manumitter has been identified with Verrius Flaccus, an authority on pontifical law; but for chronological reasons the name of Veranius Flaccus, a writer on augury,...
(whose work is preserved only in the epitome of Pompeius Festus), a contemporary of
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
, described a statue of a resting lion placed on each base, "just as they may be seen today guarding graves". This is sometimes referred to as the vulcanal. Also added at another period was an honorary column, possibly with a statue topping it.
The inscription on the stele has various interesting features. The lettering is the closest to Greek letters of any known Latin lettering, since it is closer to the original borrowing of the Greek alphabet by peoples of Italy from Greek colonies, such as
CumaeCumae is an ancient Greek settlement lying to the northwest of Naples in the Italian region of Campania...
. Also, the inscription is written
boustrophedonBoustrophedon , is a type of bi-directional text, mostly seen in ancient manuscripts and other inscriptions...
, meaning it is written alternating between right to left and left to right. Many of the oldest Latin inscriptions are written in this style.
Archaeological excavations show that various dedicatory items from vase fragments, statues and pieces of animal sacrifices, are found around at the site in a layer of deliberately placed gravel. All these artifacts date from very ancient Rome, between the fifth and seventh century BC.
The second version, placed when the first version was demolished in the first century BC to make way for further development in the forum, is a far simpler shrine. A pavement of black marble was laid over the original site and was surrounded by a short white wall. The new shrine lay just beside the
RostraThe Rostra was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the comitium towards the senate house and deliver orations to those assemble in between...
, the senatorial speaking platform.
In contemporary news
In November 2008 heavy rain damaged the concrete covering that has been protecting the Vulcanal and its monuments since the 1950s. This includes the stele accorded the name of "The Black Rock" or Lapis Niger. ( The marble and cement covering is a mix of the original black marble said to have been used to cover the site by Sulla and modern cement used to creat the covering and keeping the marble in place.) An awning now protects the ancient relics until the covering is repaired, allowing the public to view the original
suggestum for the first time in 50 years.
External links