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Curse inscription to protect a tomb
Roman, East Greek
Roman
2nd century A.D
Findspot: Anatolia (Turkey), Troad, Assos (Behramkale), Tomb of P. Varius Aquila
Medium/Technique
Marble
Dimensions
9.5 x 93 x 179.8 cm (3 3/4 x 36 5/8 x 70 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Archaeological Institute of America
Accession Number84.57a-g
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsInscriptions
DescriptionThe stone is broken into seventeen pieces. The whole of the right side of the slab is preserved, and line nine, which is complete, shows the full length of the inscription:
l. 3 "Woe unto him who after my death places someone else except for my wife into this larnax . ......I dedicate our tomb to Earth, Kore, and Pluto, so that no one, neither a blood relative nor a stranger, may dare to use it or be able to open the tomb after my burial. And, if anyone should dare any of these things, I call upon the above-named gods of the underworld that every possible punishment may follow them."
l. 3 "Woe unto him who after my death places someone else except for my wife into this larnax . ......I dedicate our tomb to Earth, Kore, and Pluto, so that no one, neither a blood relative nor a stranger, may dare to use it or be able to open the tomb after my burial. And, if anyone should dare any of these things, I call upon the above-named gods of the underworld that every possible punishment may follow them."
Provenance1881/1882, excavated from the tomb of P. Varius Aquila, Assos (Behramkale), Turkey, by the Archaeological Institute of America; 1884, gift of the Archaeological Institute of America to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 15, 1884)