This concludes my main series on the oldest book (but see below for possible follow ups).

 (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

In this last section, only one partial date is mentioned, "the 29th" (month unspecified) on 12.10. Gods mentioned include aiseraś . śeuś "Gods of Darkness" in line 12.2, uni(alti) in line 12.10 and possibly Caθ(re) in line 12.14.

A

12.1 luθt raχ musce ca useti capiθi etnam

12.2 aisna . iχ . nac . reuśce . aiseraś . śeuś

12.3 θunχulem . muθ . hilarθune . eteric

12.4 caθre . χim . enaχ . unχ va . meθlumθ. puts

12.5 muθ . hilarθuna . tecum . etrinθi . muθ

12.6 nac . θuc . unχ va . hetum . hilarθuna . θenθ

"(As for) the fire (raχ) mus-ed on the stone (luθ-t), this (ca) (must be put??) in the Osa river at capi. Then (etnam) / (perform) the ritual (aisna) just as (iχ nac) it was done (reuś-ce??) for the Gods of Darkness (aiseraś śeuś), / and in harmony (θunχul-em or "unity"?) gather (muθ) the assembly of property owners (hilarθune) and the plebians (eteri-c) / at the place sacred to Cath (caθ-r-e) for the offering (χim). (As for the) property owners (hilarθuna), collect (muθ) whatever (enaχ) (is) theirs (unχva) (and) place (puts) (them) in the midst of the people (meθlumθ or "in the city"). / And give (tec-um??) what has been collected (muθ??) to the plebians (etrinθi??). / because (nac or "so") their (unχva) (possessions? deeds?) (are) communal (θuc or "house"), and purify (hetum??) the property owners (hilarθuna?) in the θen..."

B

12.7 hursic . caplθu . ceχa m . enac eisna . hinθu

12.8 hetum . hilarθuna . eteric . caθra

12.9 etnam . aisna . iχ . matam . (small blank space here) vacltnam

12.10 θunem . cialχuś . masn . unialti . ursmnal

12.11 aθre . acil an sacnicn . cilθ . ceχa . sal

"and in the hurs. (As for) the capl people, (perform) also for (them) (ceχa-m) a chthonic (inθu) ritual; (and) purify (hetum??) the property owners and the plebians (and? or at?) the area sacred to Caθ. / So (''etnam '') (perform?) the ritual as before (aisna iχ matam). Then (-tnam) (make) a libation (vacl) / on the 29th (θunem cialχuś literally "of one less thirty") (and) you must build (aθre acil) a mas in the (sacred area) of Juno (uni-al-ti locative on a genitive) of the bear (urmnal?? if related to Latin ursa; or "of Orsminmius"?) who (an) herself (sal) (watches?) over (ceχa) the citadel (cilθ) of the priesthood (sacnicn)."

The last phrase mirrors a similar one at 7.7.

C

12.12 cus . cluce . caperi . samtic . svem . θumsa

12.13 matan . cluctraś . hilar

12.12: "(and make a libation?) cus with a cloak (cluce?) (and) with a golden cape (caperi samti-c?)." This phrase mirrors a similar one at 8.10.

12'12-13: "and the sve priest (and make a libation?) θum-ing / before (matan) the property (hilar) of the priesthood."

For the last line, Steinbauer offers: "before dressing (cluctr-aś as if a participle of cluctr- but the root should be merely cluc-). The end (hilar)."<ref>Steinbauer, D.H. ''Neues Handbuch des Etruskischen'' (Studia Classica, Band 1) St. Katharinen 1999. p.354</ref>

(The rest of C is blank, as are D and F and probably the missing E was blank as well.)

This concludes the text, and also my series on this important text, though I may add some kind of summary or presentation of the entire extant text in a smooth, somewhat speculative translation.

Continuing the series on the Liber Linteus. (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

This sections shares some vocabulary with columns 5, 6, 7 and 10. No discernible month name is given, but the numbers referring to dates show up in 11.12 "the 18th" and on 11.17 "on the 31st and on the 29th" of cana (December?).There seems to be a reference back to a rite to Neptune on the 24th of September (mentioned in 8.3) on line 11.15: "as on the 24th," and a further back reference to Neptuen on 11.16.

The god Veie is mentioned--related to or perhaps identical with Vetis in the previous section and undoubtedly connected to Latin Vejovis--and also Satre the Etruscan form of Saturn.

A

11.1 acnlas . celi pen etnam [...]sna celi . suθ

11.2 vacl . vinum . śantiśtś . celi . pen . trutum

11.3 θi . θapneśtś . trutanaśa .hanθin . celi

11.4 tur . hetum . vinum . θic . vacl . heχz . etnam

11.5 iχ . matam . cnticnθ . cepen . teśamitn

11.6 murce . θi . nunθen . etnam . θi . truθ . etnam

"The ancla must be pen ("placed"??) on the ground (cel-i or "in September"), then (etnam) place (suθ) on the ground (celi). / Place (pen?) the libation (vacl) of śanti cup (śantiś-t-ś or "of the on by the ''santi'' a gen. of a loc.) wine on the ground, and inspect for omens (trut-um) / the water (θi) of the dish (θapneś-t-ś or "of the one by the dish" a genetive of a locative), inspecting (trutanaśa) (also?) toward the south in front (of you?) (hanθin or "in front (of you?)"?) on the ground (celi). / Give (tur) hetum ("incense"?), wine and water (θi-c) as libation (vacl) (and) put (heχz or "place") (them in their proper places?). Just (etnam) / as (iχ) ("was done," or "was described") before (matam or "above" in the text?). The local (cnticnθ) priest (cepen) (who) has stayed (mur-ce) during the tomb ceremony (teśamitn ? or "funeral"?; probably related to tesim "tomb" seen in 7.10), (must) offer (nunθen) water (θi). Then (etnam) inspect for omens (truθ) the water (θi), both..."

B

11.7 hanθin. etnam . celucn . etnam . aθumitn

11.8 peθerieni . eslem . zaθrum . mur . in velθineś

11.9 cilθś . vacl . ara . θui .useti . catneti . slapiχun

11.10 slapinaś . favin . ufli . spurta . eisna . hinθu

1.11 cla . θesns

"...in the south (hanθi-n? or "in front"?) and (etnam) in the west (celuc-n ?or "on the ground"?) and (etnam) in the north (aθumit-n? or "high above"?). / The priest of Pethan (underwold god) (shall conduct the ceremonies) on the 18th at the stopping-place (mur) that (in) (is in the area) of the citadel (cilθ-ś) of Velθina. / Make a libation (vacl) here (θu-i or "at this point" or "on this date") in the Osa River (use-ti?) (and?) in the (area sacred to?) Caθ (?), (and carry out) a ritual burning (slapiχun) of a slapina ("effigy for burning"?), (and) favin ("burn to ashes" ? if related to Latin favilla "hot ashes") a basket (spurta) with a lump of flower (ufl-i if related to Latin ofella "little ball of flour") (as) an underworld (hinθu) ritual (eisna). This (cla) morning (θesn-s in the genitive of time) (ends the ritual)."

A word uvlin in the second line of theNorth Picene Novilara Stele may be related (if it is authentic) to ufli (''ball of flour''?) in 11.10.

C

(Blank space of three lines)

11.12 eslem . cealχus . etnam . aisna . canal

11.13 _tuχlac_ . _eθri . suntnam . ceχa

11.14 cntnam . θesan . fler . veiveś . θezari

11.12-13: "Then (etnam) on the 28th (eslem cealχus) the ritual (aisna) (for the sanctifying) of the work of art (cana-l = "tomb mural"? or "of December"?) / and of the house (θuχ-la-c if from θuc "house")(takes place?)."

The beginning of 11.13 is obscure. Besides "of the house," tuχlac could also be a name, or diminutive (in -la-) of "house." The form eθri is either a necessitive of an otherwise unknown verb eθ or a locative of an equally unknown noun eθra.

The form suntnam could be a mis-writing of sunt (apparently a kind of vase) plus (e)tnam "then, further." What these actually mean, and how and if they fit together with the last word in 11.13 ceχa "above, on behalf of" remains to be resolved.

11.14: "During this same morning (cntnam θesan) a sacrificial victim (fler) must be sacrificed (θeza-ri or "presented"?) for Veioves."

The underlining in 1.13 marks the end of one paragraph and the beginning of a new one.

D

11.15 etnam . aisna a[r]a iχ huθiś zaθrumiś

11.16 flerχvetr[-] neθunśl .cn . θunt . ei . tul . var

(Blank space of two lines)

11.17 θunem . cialχu[ś . e]tnam . iχ . eslem . cialχuś

11.18 canal . fler[...] cntnam . θesan

11.15- 16: "Then perform (ara, or "make") a ritual (aisna) just as (iχ) (was performed) on the 24th (huθiś zaθrumiś probably of September--see 8.3), (with) a set of sacrificial victims (fler-χve-tr-) for Neptune (neθunś-l); (perform) this (cn) at first (θunt) (light?). Do not (ei) tul ("finish"?) but var ("wait"? "watch"?) (for the sunrise?).

11.17: "on the 31st also as on the 29th of cana ("December" or "art work") a sacrificial victim (fler- ?); during the morning (cntnam θesan) (the ritual will be completed)."

(E is missing)

F

11.f1 flanac . farsi lant c[...] flanac . farsi

11.f2 tunt . enac . etnam . aθumic . θlupcva

11.f3 ceśum . tei . lanti . ininc . eśi . tei . χimθ

11.f4 streta . satrs . enac . θucu . hamφeθiś . rinuś

11.f5 θui . araś . sucus . ania.χeś . rasna . hilar

11.f6 [...]tram. catrua . hamφes . leiveś

"And a flan priest in the far (and?) in the lan (must perform this rite?)... And the flan priest in the far / (and?) in the one (tu-n-t if for θunt) then (enac) also (etnam) (must do the same?) in the north (aθumic) (for?) the chthonic gods (θlupcva if an error for θluscva), / whether anyone (ininc if an error for an-anc or "whoever/whatever") lying (ceś-um if an error for cei-um) here in this lan- (tei lan-ti) or (eśi) in this offering place (tei χimθ) / (or) in the Saturnalia (streta or "place of Satr") of Saturn (satr-s); Then (enac) (perform the ritual) at the house (θucu) of the right hand (hamφeθiś rinuś); at this point (θui or "here" or "on this date"?) making (ar-as) the valley (mucum or "mug"?) of the area of the Ania River (ania.χeś) public (rasna or Etruscan) property (hilar)..."

In 11.f6,t he fragment -tram could be cletram "litter" or cntram "on the same (morning)." The form catrua is otherwise unattested, possibly related to Latin caterva "group, croud." The frequent pair hamφes leiveś means "of the right (and) of the left."

Continuing the series on the Liber Linteus. (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

This section is particularly difficult, containing many otherwise unattested words. There is a date given on 10.2, "on the 27th of Capeni," Capeni being some month after September, probably either October or November. Here again we see reference to the Ciminian god, as well as to the underworld gods Cath(-nis) and Veltha in line 10 and 15 (the former, well known from other inscriptions, the other only seen here and at 6.7 above; but note velthre in 7.2 and 7.20, velθinal in 6.7 apparently there meaning "chthonic," and various names starting in Velth-).

A

1 [..c]epen

2 sul . peθereni . ciem . cealχuz . capeni

3 marem . zaχ ame . nacum . cepen . flanaχ

4 vacl . ar . ratum . χuru . peθereni . θucu

5 aruś . ame . acnesem . ipa . seθumati . simlχa

6 θui . turve . acil . hamϕes . laeś . suluśi

Notes: The first word, cepen, means "priest."

Line 10.2 probably means: "The Pethereni (= kind of priest--archpriest?) (shall conduct?) a ceremony (sul?) on the 27th (ci-em ce-alχuz literally "three-from-thirtieth") in (the month of) Capeni (a month after September)."

In line 10.3, zaχ and mare-m are obscure, except that the last letter in mare-m is a postposition meaning "however, but, and"; and ame which means "is/be." So perhaps: "But the zaχ priest (?) shall be in mara "?

In 10.3-4, the sequence: nacum . cepen . flanaχ vacl . ar . ratum seems to mean: "and so (nac-um) the Flan priest must make (ar) an libation (vacl) according to the rite (ratum)."

In 10.4-5: χuru peθereni θucu aruś . ame seems to mean: "the archpriest (χuru peθereni) of the house (θuc-u) / is aruś."

The word aruś (10.5) is otherwise unknown, but may be connected with the haru- of Latin haruspex a religious official responsible for interpreting omens by examining the internal organs of sacrificed animals. It is perhaps also to be compared with Umbrian erus frequently mentioned in the Iguvine Tablets (for a thorough examination of which term, see Michael Weiss's "Umbrian erus" in Language and Ritual in Sabellic Italy. Brill, 2010. pp. 400-424. https://conf.ling.cornell.edu/weiss/Umrian\_erus.pdf).

B

7 θuni . śerϕue . acil . ipei . θuta . cnl . χaśri

8 heχz . sul . scvetu . caθnis . ścanin . velθa

9 ipe . ipa . maθcva . ama . trinum . hetrn . aclχn

10 eis . cemnac . iχ . velθa . etnam . tesim . etnam

11 celucn . hinθθin . χimθ . ananc . eśi . vacl

12 ścanin ras truθur . tutimc . an masnur

"First (θuni) it is necessary (acil) to śerϕu- (this is the only attestation of this apparent verb form) to her who (ipei?) (is?) sacred (θuta). It is necessary to χaś-(this is the only attestation of this verb form) for this (cnl) (deity? ritual?). / Adorn (heχz) the solemn (sul) scvetu (this is the only attestation of this form). Pour (ścanin) (a libation to) Caθnis (and to) Velθa. / For her and for him (ipe ipa or "wherever"?) may there be (ama) *maθ-*s. Invoke, however, (trinu-m) the hetr- (and?) works (ac-lχ-n?) / and the Ciminian (cemna-c) god (eis ), just as (iχ) (was done for) Velθa both (etnam) in the tomb (tesim) and (etnam) / on the earth (celu-c-n) (and for??) whoever (ananc) is in the offering place (χim-θ) in the underworld (hinθθin) (?); or (eśi) / pour the libation (vacl ścanin); (observe) the national (ras) and (-c) local (tutim-? or village?) omens (truθur). Who (an) the masn (offerings)..." (It is unclear how the last two words are to be construed with either what immediately precedes or what follows.)

C

13 θumicle . caθna . imec . faci . θumitle . unuθ

14 huteri . ipa . θucu . petna . ama . nac . cal

15 hinθu . heχz . velθe . maθcve . nuθin

16 śarśanauś . teiś . tura . caθnal . θuium

17 χuru . cepen . sulχva . maθcvac . pruθseri

(From 10.12)-- "(The ones??) who (an) (make) masn- offerings / for Caθna in the θumicl and in the ime (and?) in the fac (and) in the θumitl (= θumicl?), to them (unuθ if an error for unuχ) / it is necessary to hut- where (ipa) the house (θucu) priest of Peθan is (ama) (--perhaps "...The house priest of Pethan is to be their priest"?). / Then (nac) (sacrifice?) a dog (cal) to the underground (hinθu) (deities), decorated (heχz) for Velθa with maθ-'s (?). Give (tura) nuθin (unknown noun, unless an error for nunθen) / to these (teis) ten (priests?) (śar-śanau-ś) of the place sacred to Caθ (caθna-l). And here (θui-um) / the archpriest (χuru cepen) must pruθs- the solemn (sulχva) (offerings?) and the *maθ-*s."

Notes: An argument for reading nuθin in 10.15 as a mistake for nunθen is that the latter verb co-occurs as here with the verb tur(a) "give" in both 2.13 and 4.13, and forms of nunθen also co-occur, as here, with forms of tei in 2.11, 2.13 and at 9.17--in other words (if we accept this as a mistake here) half of all the forms of tei- attested in this text co-occur with forms of nunθen. So perhaps a better translation from that word on would be "Make an offering of these tithings, (and) present them for Caθna ".

There are obviously a lot of unknown and uncertain forms in this section, and perhaps a few scribal errors. But it is fairly clear that chthonic/underworld deities are involved, from Caθ to Peθan and Velθa.

A form starting with the sequence cal- is on a bronze statue of a dog, making it likely that this is the right meaning here. There are not many references to dog sacrifices in central Italy in this period, but most of those we do have, show that it was typical of sacrifices to chthonic deities. We saw the same form in column 3 line 14.

D

18 vacl . araś . θui . useti . cepen . faθinum

19 zaneś . vuvcnicś . plutim . tei . mutti . ceśasi/n

20 ara . ratum . aisna . leitrum . zuθeva . zal

21 eśic . ci . halχza . θu . eśic . zal . mula . santic

22 θapna . θapnzac . lena . etera . θec . peisna

23 hausti . fanuśe . neriś . lape . epa . θui . neri

24 (illegible)

10.18-19: "(Having) performed (araś) a libation (vacl), here (θui) the Osa (or Osenna?) priest (cepen) (or "here, in Osa/Osenna, a priest...") (will?) ceśas- (see 10.F.f2) a faθinum of zana in the level area (plutim if connected to Latin plot-) of the (sacred) clearing in the wood (vuvcnic-ś if connected to Umbrian vucus "grove"; compare Latin lucus "grove," originally "light, open area within a woods" a frequent location for solemn ceremonies) with/in this (tei) mut (perhaps related to muti- "collect; bind" so perhaps "basket" or "rope" here?)."

10.20: "Make (ara) (a libation?) a sacred (aisna) leitrum according to the rite (ratum). / Give (mula) ("also"?) two (zal) or (eśic) ci (''three'') zuθe vases, / (and) one (θu) or two small halχ vases, and a santi / cup (θapna), and a small cup (θapn-za-c)."

The rest of this section is obscure, except epa which probably means "meal" and θui "here," both in 10.23. Perhaps: "(And) the tomb (etera) official (lena?) and the θe peisna (priest?) (shall give) a funerary (lape?? error for lup-??) meal (epa) in the haus tomb chamber (fanu-ś-e) of neri, (and) here in neri..."

(E is missing)

F

f1 santic . vinum θui θapnac . θapnzac . sucus

f2 halχze . θui . θi . vacl . ceśasin . θumsa . cilva

f3 neri . canva . carsi . putnam . θu . calatnam

f4 tei . lena . haustiś . enac . eśi . catnis . heci

f5 spurta . sulsle . napti . θui . laiscla . heχz . ner/i

f6 [...] trinum . vetis . une . mlac . sanθi

10.f1-2: "And ("use"?) santi wine here (θui = "at this point in the ceremony"?), and both a (full sized) cup (θapna-c) and a small cup (θapn-za-c); furthermore a mug (muc-um) / with a small vase (halχ-z-e); at this point (θui) ceśas (verb or adjective? "use," "collect"?? seen also in 10.9) water (θi) (as) the libation (vacl), θum-ing ("making sacred"??) the hilltops (cilva if an error for cilθ-cva).

10.f3 is mostly (even more) obscure except for θu "one."

10.f4: "At this point (tei literally "with this") the (tomb?) official (lena?) will then (enac) adorn (heci) (the area of) the haus or of (the area sacred to) Caθ (?)."

10.f5: " A basket with a small sul in a nap (some body of water? or a measure?--compare naper in the Cippus Perusinus), at this point (θui) adorning (hecz) the things on the left (laiscla) in neri."

10.f6: "...and invoke (trin-um) Vetis, (present) for him (une) an appropriate (mlac) (thing) in a san (dish)."

Vetis seems to be a kind of Apolline chthonic Jupiter figure, perhaps ultimately related to Latin Vejovis / Vedius (also an underworld Jupiter).

Continuing the series on the Liber Linteus. (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

Much of the text in 9 exhibits formulas seen above. Neptune is again prominent here (9.7,14,18,22), along with aiser "the gods" at 9.23 and eis cemnac "the Ciminian god" at 9.23-24 (the latter if Rix's reconstruction is to be accepted). There is also a (partial) date given at 9.f2: ciem cealχuś "the 27th" presumably still of September (celi).

(S is missing; the following is Rix's reconstruction, based on 9.5-8.)

s1 [ śpureri . meθlumeric . enaś . raχθ ...]

s2 [trin . flere . neθunśl . un . mlaχ . nunθen]

A

1 zuśleve . zarve . ecn . zeri . lecin . in . zec

2 fler . θezince . śacnicśtreś . cilθś

3 śpureśtreś . enaś . eθrse . tinśi . tiurim

4 avilś . χiś . cisum . pute . tul . θans . haθe

5 repinec . śacnicleri . cilθl . śpureri

The first two words are plural locative nouns probably in asyndetic coordination with each other, probably showing poetic alliteration: "With piglets (zuśleve) (and) with zarva-s." The rest of 9.1 mirrors 2.2. 9.2 starts: "Sacrifice/present (θezince) the victim (fler)." The rest through 9.6 mirrors 2.n1-5.

B

6 meθlumeric . enaś . raχθ . tur . heχśθ

7 vinum . trin . flere . neθunśl .un . mlaχ

8 nunθen . zuśleve . zarve . faśeic . ecn . zeri

(9.8-11 = 9.1-4 from zuśleve to θans)

The text from raχθ in 9.6 to nunθen in 9.8 reflects the text at 2.13-15, except that there are a few extra words in the earlier text, and after flere we find in crapsti ("Jupiter") there as opposed to neθunśl ("Neptune") here.

C

12 haθec . repinec . śacnicleri . cilθl . śpureri

13 meθlumeric . enaś . raχθ . suθ . nunθenθ .

14 zusleve . faśeic . farθan . fleres . neθunśl

15 raχθ . cletram . śrenχve . nunθenθ .

16 estrei . alϕazei . zusleve . raχθ eim . tul . var

9.12-13 reflect 9.4-6 above. From raχθ in 9.13: "Make an offering (nunθen-θ) placing (suθ) (it) on the fire (raχ-θ) / with piglets (zusleve) (see 9.1) and with oil (faś-ei-c) (for) the spirit (farθan) of the deity (flere-s) of Neptune (neθunś-l). / Make and offering (placing it) on the fire with the adorned litter (and?) / with roasted (estrei?) barley (alϕazei) (and) withpiglet (zuzleva) in the fire; but do not (ei-m) finish (tul here "completely burn"?) (it); watch (var, or "wait"?)." (The last clause first occurs at 4.12, and is repeated immediately below in 9.17-18.)

Note: It is not completely clear what the exact difference between farθan and flere might be. They are clearly distinct since as here there is a farθan of a flere. Yet both seem to mean something like "inner spirit, genius (in the Latin sense), deity..."

D

17 nunθenθ estrei alϕazei . tei . faśi . em

18 tul . var . celi . suθ . nunθenθ . flere . neθunśl

19 un . mlaχ . nunθen . χiś . esviśc . faśei

20-22 (= 9.4-6 from cisum to enaś)

22 ...śin . v.i.n.u.m . flere .neθunśl . χiś

9.17-19: "Make an offering with roasted barley (and) with this (tei) oil. Do not / finish; watch. Make an offering setting (suθ) (it) on the earth (cel-i) to the deity of Neptune. / To him (un) make an appropriate (mlaχ) offering with the oil (faśei) of χi ("the right day" or the kalends?) and of esvi ("the ides"?)."

9.22: (Say:) 'Receive (śin) wine, oh deity of Neptune, with [the oil (faśei)] of χi-("the right day"?) [and of esvi- ("the ides"?)]."

Note: Most of the phrases here are repetitions or slight variations on those just used. Note, though, that here the offering is set on the earth rather than in/on the fire as above at 9.13.

E is missing; what follows is Rix's partial reconstruction based on 9.19 and 4.20-21:

23 [eśviśc . faśei . sin . aiser . faśe . śin . ais]

24 [cemnac . faśeiś . raχθ . sutanaś . celi . suθ]

25-28 [...]

9.22-24: "with the oil of χi- ("the appropriate day"?) and / of the ides (eśvi-ś-c). Receive (sin), oh gods (aiser), with oil (faśe). Receive, oh Ciminian god, / with oil.' Placing (sutanaś) (it) on the fire, place (suθ) (it) on the earth (celi)..." (Or the final phrase may be part of the invocation to the gods.)

F

f1 nacum aisna . hinθu . vinum . trau . prucuna

(Blank space of three lines)

f2 ciem . cealχuś . lauχumneti . eisna . θaχśe/ri

f3 tur [...]

9.f1: "And so (nac-um) (as) a funerary (hinθu or "chthonic") ritual (aisna), pour out (trau) wine (vinum) from the prucuna jug."

9.f2: "(On) the 27th (ci-em ce-alχuś literally "3 less 30") (of September?) in the sacred palace (lauχumneti), a ritual (eisna) should be started (θaχśe-ri).

I was wondering how much we know about how Etruscan women styled their hair and how they dressed like. Of course, I guess that this also depends on their social circle and wealth, but I was wondering if there are any interesting books/papers/websites that you could recommend me to learn more about this subject.

Thanks in advance!

Continuing the series on the Liber Linteus. (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

Here, another date is explicitly mentioned, August 13, then sacrifices in honor of Neptune/Nethuns on September 24. This in contrast to the references to Tin during the earlier months of the year above. But reference to ''ais cemnach'', seen in column 4 and 5, is taken up againat 8.16. Reference to the god Nethuns/Neptune continues into the next column.

There are notable parallels between passages in this column and passages from column 3 (see below).

A

(Blank space of 3 lines)

1 θucte . ciś . śariś . esvita . vacltnam

2 culścva . spetri . etnam . i.c . esvit l e . ampne/eri

8.1 "On Auguest (θuct-e) 13th (ci-ś śar-iś), (there should be) the esvita feast ("on the ides''?), then (-na-m) a libation (vaclt-)."

8.2 "The gates (culś-cva) must be opened (spet-ri?) in this way (etnam): just as (i.c. = iχ*?*) during the (other?) estiva feast they have to be closed (ampne-ri?)..."

B

(Blank space of 3 lines)

3 clei . huθiś . zaθrumiś . flerχva . neθunsl

4 śucri . θezeric . scara . priθaś . raχ . tei

5 menaś . cltral . mulaχ . huslna . vinum

8.3-4 "On September (cle-i) the 24th (huθ-iś zaθrum-iś), sacrificial victims (fler-χva) to Neptune (neθuns-l) / must be announced (śuc-ri) [and] presented/sacrificed (θeze-ri-c)..."

Much of the rest is obscure, involving ''hapax'' (forms only seen once): perhaps—8.4-5 "[and] may be scara priθa -ing fire (raχ), / presenting (menaś) cltral and give (mulaχ) young (newly opened) wine (huslna vinum)."

C

6 laiveism . acilθ . ame ranem . scare

7 reuχzina . caveθ . zuślevac . mac . ramurθi

8 reuχzineti . ramueθ . vinum . acilθ . ame

9 mula . hursi . puruθn . vacl . usi . clucθraś

10 caperi . zamθic . vacl . ar . flereri . sacnisa

11 sacnicleri . trin . flere . neθunsl . une

8.6 starts: "But (-m) it is necessary (acilθ) (for this ritual) to be (ame) (performed) on the right hand side (laiveis-)..."

The phrase caveθ zuślevac mac "three pigs (as offerings) must be cave-d (?? or in the cava)" also occurs in 3.3-4 in the order zuślevac mac caveθ followed by the phrase huslna vinum "young wine" seen also just above in 8.5. So the obscure language before (ranem scare reuχzina) and after (ramurθi reuχzineti ramueθ) this may again be describing various kinds of wine used in the ritual.

8.8-11: "It is necessary (acilθ) for there to be (ame) wine./ Give (mula) the puruθa ("pure wine"??) to hur-. Scoop (usi) a libation (vacl) with the golden (zamθic) mantle (caperi) of the ''cluctra'' ("cloak"?). / Make (''ar'') a libation (''vacl'') for the deity (''flere-ri''). Praying (''sacni-sa'') / for the priesthood (''sacnicleri''), invoke (''trin'') the deity of Neptune (''flere neθuns-l''); for him (''une'')..."

Notes: The phrase mula hursi puruθn occurs also in line 3.2, and hursi- also in 12.7.

D

12 mlaχ . puθs . θaclθ θartei zivaś fler (Interpuncts are mostly illegible because only less than bottom half of line is visible in the second half of the line.)

13 θezine . ruze . nuslχne . zati . zatlχne

14 śacnicśtreś . cilθś . śpureśtreśc . enaś .

15 eθrse . tinśi . tiurim . avilś . χiś . hetrn (8.13-15 to χiś = 2.n1-3)

16 aclχn . aiś . cemnaχ . θezin . fler . vacl

17 etnam . tesim . etnam . celucn . trin . alc

18 ...]θ

8.11-13 : "...for him (une) an appropriate (mlaχ or "nice") (offering) is placed (puθs) on the chair (θaclθ?) (and) on the bed (θartei?). A living (zivaś) sacrifice (fler) / is presented/slaughtered (θezine), nuslχne ("bound"? or "killed"?) with ruza ("rope"? or "and ax"?)."

Notes. At the end of line 8.13, zati zatlχne are an alliterating pair otherwise unknown in the Etruscan record. Watmough and others have compared zatlχne with Latin satelles "attendant; axe-striker". See Watmough, M. M. T., "Studies in the Etruscan loanward in Latin" Biblioteca di 'Studi Etruschi 33, Firenze, 1997

8.14-15 (from hetrn) mirrors 4.12 and 5.17-18, while 8.15-17 (from vacl) copies 3.12. In line 8.17, trin al-c probably mean "invoke and give!."

(E is missing)

F

f1 [--19--] naχva . ara . nunθene

f2 [śaθaś . naχve . heχz . ma]le . huslneśtś

f3 [trin . flere . neθuns]l . un . mlaχ nunθen

f4 [θaclθi . θartei . ci ar . ] huslne . vinum eśi

f5 [sese . ramue . racuse .] faśeic . śacnicśtreś

f6 [cilθś . śpureśtreś . enaś . eθ]rse . tinśi

8.f1: "Make (ara) worthy things (naχva or "lofty things") (and) offer (nunθene) (them)!"

8.f2 mirrors 3.17, etc.

8.f3: "Invoke the spirit of Neptune; for him make an appropriate offering." Compare 5.1.

8.f4-5: "On the chair and on the bed make (ar) (and offering) three times (ci) with young (huslne) wine or (eśi) / with sesa, (or? and?) with ramua, (or? and?) with racusa and with oil (faśe-i-c)." Compare 3.19-20.

For the rest, see again 2.n1-2.

(J is missing. What follows is a reconstruction by Rix)

i1 [tiurim . avilś . χiś . cisum . pute . tul . θans .]

i2 [hatec . repinec . śacnicleri . cilθl .]

These reconstructions are based on 2.n3-4.

Continuing the series on the Liber Linteus. (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

The repeated phrase male ceia hia in the A strip may be or include a kind of ritual lamentation (and note the repetitions in 7.5-6: vacl vile vale / staile staile). If so--and given the large number of funerary references in this section such as the words hia, firin, ceren-, zelva, murśś, calti, tesim, θaurχ, ścun- and possibly *ceu--*van der Meer proposes that this column deals with the Adonai ceremony (also likely mentioned in the Pyrgi Tablets) involving the ritual burial of Aphrodite's consort Adonis (whose name, however, does not appear in the extant text) in the form of Adonai gardens.

These rites are generally agreed to have taken place in mid to late summer (July 19 in Rome), so would fit well into the calendar where we should be in late July or August (though no date is indicated in the extant text here). But working out the exact meaning of much of the text is challenging. The term veltre/velθite in 7.1 and 7.20 appears to contrast in both cases with aisvale "celestial gods," so it may here refer to chthonic gods or the spiritual underworld.

A

1 [c]eia [. hia . ...male]

2 ceia . hia . etnam . ciz . vacl . trin . velθre

3 male . ceia . hia . etnam . ciz . vacl . aisvale

4 male . ceia . hia . trinθ . etnam . ciz . ale

5 male . ceia . hia . etnam . ciz . vacl . vile . vale

6 staile . staile . hia . ciz . trinθaśa . śacnitn

Notes: The form male is a well known verb meaning "see," perhaps here "observe" in the sense "observe the formality of ritual lamentation by saying:". The repeated form ceia hia may simply be syllables associated with lamentation, basically "woe." They are suspiciously similar to the Greek cry hye kye "Rain, come!" associated with the Eleusian ceremonies (Proclus Diadoch. Ad Plato Tim. 293C). Unless ceia is a form of the (possible) name of a goddess Ceu (see 7.8 below).

The form ci-z is well known to mean "three times" but whether that relates to what precedes or what follows is unclear. As in strip 7D below, velthre seems to contrast with aisvale (see above), both associated on both occasions with vacl "offering, libation." The root trin- (7.2,4,6) is thought to be a verb of speaking, perhaps "invoke" or "announce" here.

The forms vile, vale, staile, ale are all obscure (but the last may mean "give!"), though they all may be parallel to male "observe" which would make them subjunctives/imperatives. The form śacn-it-n is an accusative meaning "sacred fraternity, priesthood."

B

7 an . cilθ . ceχane . sal . śuciva . firin . arθ

8 vaχr . ceuś . cilθval . svem . cepen . tutin

9 renχzua . etnam . cepen . ceren . śucic . firin

10 tesim . etnam . celucum . caitim . caperχva

11 hecia . aisna . clevana . χim . enac . usil

7.7-11 "(the priesthood) who (an) on behalf of (ceχane) the citadel (cilθ) of/for itself (sal?) shall announce a funereal symposium (firin?), (shall be?) making (arθ) a covenant (vaχr) with the goddess Ceu of the citadel. But a sve priest (and?) a priest (cepen) of the village (tutin) (shall be the??) / renχzua (a word otherwise unattested). Likewise (etnam) the priest of the tomb (ceren) shall announce a funereal symposium / to the tomb (tesim) and also to the earth (celucum). But in the tomb chamber (cai-ti-m? if for cal-ti-), make (hecia) mantles (caper-χva) / the divine (aisna) clevana offering (χim). And then (ena-c) the sun (usli)..."

Notes: The form firin may be related to fira which occurs on a tomb, as well as in 1.1 of this text, where it seems to contrast with epa "meal" (?) and so in this section may mean something like "ritual (here funereal) drinking ceremony; symposium." According to Wylin, the root śuci- is a verb meaning "announce." See Wylin, K. Il verbo etrusco: Ricerca morphosintatica delle forme usate in funzione verbale, Roma, 2000. pp. 88 and 123

C

12 cerine . tenθa[sa] cntnam θesan masn .

13 zelvθ . murśś . etnam . θacac . usli . neχse

14 acil . ame . etnam . cilθcveti . hilare . acil .

15 vacl . cepen . θaurχ . cerene . acil . etnam

16 ic . clevana . śucic . friθvene . acil . etnam

17 tesim . etnam . celucn . vacl . ara θuni

18 śacnicleri . cilθl cepen cilθcva . cepen

How the text fits together here is rather opaque. The form cerine should be a passive verbal form meaning "constructed" referring to a tomb, and tenθasa seems to be participle from ten- "to function as (a magistrate)." How to construe this, and how/whether it connects with what precedes or follows is unclear.

7.12-19 "during this same (cntnam) morning (θesan), a mas(a)n offering (should be presented) / in the tomb chamber (zelvθ) of the sarcophagus/urn (murśś if related to Latin mora, perhaps originally "stopping/resting place"); Then (etnam) it is necessary (acil) (for there) to be (ame) also a θaca ("chair"?) on the day (usil literally "sun") of neχse. / Then it is necessary to have a libation (vacl) on the hilltops (cilθ-cve-ti). It is necessary for the priest (cepen) of the tomb (θaurχ) (to cerene ("construct"? "consecrate"?) (the tomb). Then / (proceed just) as (ic) (with the) cleva ritual (?); and announce (śuci-c) the ritual symposium (firi); it is necessary to θvene, both (etnam) / to the tomb (tesim) and to the earth (celucn). Make (ara) a libation (vacl) once (each)(θuni?) to the priesthood of the citadel, the priest of the hilltops, / (and) the local (? cn-ti-cn-θ double locative "at this place") priest / who (in) were (amce) the burial-priests (ceren cepar) at that time (nac ? or "then")."

D

19 cnticnθ . in ceren cepar . nac amce . etnam

20 śuci . firin . etnam . velθite . etnam aisvale

21 vacl . ar . par . ścunueri . ceren . cepen

22 θaurχ etnam . iχ . matam . śucic . firin

23 cereθi enaś . ara . θuni . etnam ceren

24 ...]θin[...

7.19 (continued) - 22. "Then (etnam) /announce (śuci) the symposium/drinking ritual (firin), both (etnam) for the earth (velθite) and (etnam) for the heavens (aisvale). / Make a libation in due part (par) for the tombs (ścunueri), oh ceren-priest (cepen) / of the tomb (θaurχ), just (etnam) as (iχ) before (matan, or "just as (described) above"?), and announce the symposium (śuci-c firin) ..."

The rest is obscure. Why the repeated announcement of the drinking ceremony? Perhaps each instance means something like: "tell (the attendees to take) a ritual drink at that moment in the proceedings)?

Perhaps for 7.23: "at the tombs (cere-θi) of (the city?) enas do (ar-a) (the same?) at once (θu-ni). Then (etnam) build tombs (ceren??) at [vel]θin(?)..."

(E and F are missing)

Continuing the series on the Liber Linteus. (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

Here we have the first recognizable dates: zaθrumsne "on the 20th" (presumably in May, probably already mentioned in the missing part of 6.1) in 6.9, and in 6.14 eslem . zaθrumiś . acale literally "two less of 20 in June" that is "on the 18th of June."

It is notable that each date is preceded by a gap: in the first instance just the end of line 8 (perhaps for a date within the same month as a preceding missing date), and in the second by a gap of three lines, here marking that we are in a new month perhaps. Similar three-line gaps can be seen below before a date in August (8.1) and before the next date in September (8.3). These firmly establish that the text is indeed some kind of sequential ritual calendar, even though the extant first 5 columns show no discernible dates—presumably they were in the parts of the text that are missing or illegible.

A

1 tś sal s[...] aceva . śnuiuϕ . aniχeis

2 śnuiuϕ . urχeiś . ceśc . aniaχ . urχ . hilχvetra

3 hamϕeiś . leiveś . turi . θui . streteθ . face

4 apniś . aniaχ . apniś . urχ . pereθeni . śnuiuϕ

5 hamϕeti . etnaim . laeti . anc . θaχśin

"Of this (t-ś) its own (sa-l?) ...the permanent (śnuiuϕ?) priest of the river Ani / (and) the permanent priest of the river Urc, and the ces ("ad hoc"?) priest of Ani and Urc, shall offer (tur-i or "give") here the set of possessions (hilχve-tra) in the sanctuary (stret-eθ?) and in the faca, from the right (hamϕeiś) and from the left (leiveś). / The May priest (a(m)pnis, or 'priest of the Father' ap-?) of Ani (and) the May priest of Urc (and) the permanent priest of Perthan (shall do the same) / on the right as on the left. And he who (an-c) starts (thachsin?)..."

Without parentheses, etc: "Of this its own ...the permanent priest of the river Ani and the permanent priest of the river Urc, and the ad hoc priest of Ani and Urc shall offer here the set of possessions in the sanctuary and in the faca, from the right and from the left. The May priest of Ani and the May priest of Urc and the permanent priest of Perthan shall do the same on the right as on the left. And he who starts ..."

B

6 θeusnua . caperc . heci . naχva . tinθaśa

7 etnam . velθinal . etnam . aisunal . θunχerś

8 _iχ . śacnicla_

9 zaθrumsne . lusaś . fler . hamϕisca . θezeri

10 laivisc . lustraś . fler . vacltnam

11 θezeric . anθeric . [...]θi

6.6-8: "(And he who starts (the ritual)), let him make (hec-i) the θeusnua-garment and the mantle (caper-c), making (tinθ-aśa) (them) properly (naχva?) / both (etnam) for the firstlings (θuχner-ś) (that are) for the chthonic (velθin-al) (rituals) and (those that are) for the celestial (aisun-al?) (rituals),/ just as (iχ) (has been done) for the priesthood (śacnicla)." (That these two words are underlined and followed by a gap probably indicates a paragraph break before rituals for a new date are introduced, as discussed above.)

6.9-11 "On the 20th (of May?), a sacrificial victim (fler) must be presented (θeze-ri) for Lusa on the right (hamϕisca); and on the left (laivis-c), a sacrificial victim must be presented for Lustra, then a libation offering (vaclt-nam); and they must be X-ed (? anθe-ri-c "strewn with flowers"?? if from Greek anthos "flower") on (the right??)."

Without parentheses, etc: "And he who starts the ritual, let him prepare the θeusnua-garment and the vestiments, making them properly--both for the firstlings that are for the chthonic rituals, and for those offerings that are for the celestial rituals--just as has been done for the priesthood."

"On the 20th of May, a sacrificial victim must be presented for Lusa on the right; and on the left, a sacrificial victim must be presented for Lustra then a libation offering. And they must be strewn with flowers on the right."

C

12 etnam . eisna . iχ . flereś . crapśti

13 θunśna . θunś . flerś

(Blank space for three lines)

14 eslem . zaθrumiś . acale . tinś . in . śarle

6.12-13: "In this way (''etnam'', or "also") the (other) divine (things) (''eisna'') (will be treated) just as (''iχ'') (was) the Spirit (in) Craps (compare Umbrian deity ''Grabovius''), / (with regard to?) the sacrifice (''flerś'') of the first (''θunś'') of the firstlings (''θunśna'' technically an adjective rather than genitive plural)."

6.14-15 "Two less (esl-em) of 20 (zaθrum-iś) in June (acal-e) (that is "on June 18th"), Tin (Jupiter) in the tenth (in śarl=e) .../[6.15 region (luθti) (of the heavens? But see below for alternatively taking luθti with raχ)"

Without parentheses, etc: "In this way the other divine things will be treated just as was the Spirit in Craps with regard to the sacrifice of the first of the firstlings."

"On June 18th, Tin in the tenth region of the heavens..."

D

15 luθti . raχ . ture . acil . caticaθ . luθ . celθim

16 χim . scuχie . acil . hupniś . painiem

17 anc . martiθ . sulal

(Blank space for three lines)

18 ...]n[...]c lurniθi

(Sections E and F are missing)

6:15-16 "It is necessary (acil) to present (ture or "give") fire (raχ) on the stone (luθ-ti, or "altar?"; unless this means "region" and is connected with the preceding phrase), (specifically??) the caticaθ ("sacred to Cath"??) stone. Moreover (celθim), it is necessary to X (scuχie??) the offering (χim) of/for the resting place/tomb/urn (hupni-ś probably from Greek hupnos "sleep") ..." --the remainder is (even more) obscure: pain-i-em may be a locative of a place "Paina"; an-c usually means "and who" but could mean "whoever" here; martiθ if related to Latin martiol could mean (a sacred or solemn sul??) "hammer" such as one carried my Charon and perhaps here by a priest gaveling the end of a ceremony or perhaps for a nail-driving ritual. The form lurni-θi may be related to the underworld Etuscan deity Lur-ni, perhaps "in the place sacred to Lurni."

Without parentheses, etc: "It is necessary to present fire on the altar, specifically the altar that is sacred to Cath. Moreover, it is necessary to scuχie the offering for the resting place. And in Paina, whoever carries the sacred hammer...in the place of sacred Lur"

Continuing the series on the Liber Linteus. (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

A

1 vunuχ [mlaχ nunθen] etn capeśi fa[śe]

2 ecn . zeri . lecin . inc . zec . fasle . hemsince

3 śacnicsteś . cilθś . śpurestreśc

4 enaś . eθrse . tinśi . tiurim . avilś . χiś

5 cisum . pute . tul . θansur . haθrθi . repinθic

"For them (vunuχ if a mis-writing of unuχ) an appropriate offering, (and make?) this (et-n accusative) (offering?) with a cape (capes-i, or "with the vestiments") and with oil." For the rest through 5.10, see above, column 2, and 4.11-12.

B

6 śacnicleri . cilθl . śpureri . meθlumeric

7 enaś . raχθ . suθ . nunθenθ . etnam . farθan

8 aiseraś . seuś . cletram śrencve . racθ

9 suθ . nunθenθ . estrei . alϕazei . eim . tul

10 var . celi . suθ . nunθene . eiser . śic . śeuc

11 unuχ . mlaχ . nunθen . χiś . esviśc . faśe

From 5.10, at nunθene: "Make an offering (nunθene) for the gods [both] of light (śi-c) and of dark (seu-c), / for them (unuχ) make an appropriate (mlaχ or "nice") offering with oil (faśe) from the χi (ritual/festival) and the esvi (ritual/festival)"

Without the parentheses, and with some assumptions/liberties: "Make an offering for the Gods of Light and for the Gods of Darkness, for them make an appropriate offering with oil of the Kalends festival and of the Ides festival."

C

12 cisum . pute . tul . θansur . haθrθi . repinθic

13 śanicleri . cilθl . śpureri . meθlumeric

14 enaś . sin . eiser . śic . śeuc . χiś . esviśc

15 faśe . sin . eiser . faśeiś . raχθ . sutanaś

16 celi . suθ . vacl . θesnin . raχ . cresverae

17 heczri . truθ . celi . epc . śuθce . citz . trinum

5.12-14 see 2.n3-5. 5.14-17 from sin: "(Say): receive, (sin) oh gods both of light and of darkness, the oil of χi and of esvi; / receive, oh gods, [this] oil, placing [it] on the fire, and/or place [it] / on the earth: / (during?) the morning (θesnin) libation (vacl), place (hecz-ri) fire (raχ) in the cresvera; / make ritual observations (truθ) of the earth, and let a participant of the funereal meal (ep-c) make the three-fold (ci-tz) placement (śuθce). And invoke (trin-um)..."

Without parentheses, etc: Say: "Receive, oh Gods of Light and Gods of Darkness, the oil of the Kalends festival and of Ides festival! Receive, oh Gods, this oil!" placing it on the fire, or place it on the earth. During the morning libation, place fire in the cresvera**. Make ritual observations of the earth, and let a participant of the funereal meal make the three-fold placement . And invoke** ..."

D

18 hetrn . aclχn . ais . cemnac . truθt . raχś . rinuθ

19 citz . vacl . nunθen . θesan . tinś . θesan

20 eiseraś . śeuś . unuχ . mlaχ . nunθen . θesviti

21 favitic . faśei . cisum . θesane . uslanec

22 mlaχe . luri . zeric . zec . aθeliś . śacnicla

23 ciθl . śpural . meθlumeśc . enas cla . θesan

From 5.17 at trinum to 5.22: "And invoke / the hetra (and) the aclχa ("works"? if from ac- "work"), and the Ciminian gods (ais cemna-c). Make ritual observation (truθt) of the fire (raχ-ś) in the rinu. / (Make) a libation (vacl) three times (ci-tz). Make an offering (nunθen) to Θesan ("Dawn Goddess" or "Venus") of Tin ("Jupiter" or "bright(ening) sky") and to Θesan / of the Dark Gods (eis-era-ś śeu-ś); for them (unuχ) make an appropriate (mlaχ or "nice") offering with oil of the morning (θes-viti? locative adjective, like the next, agreeing with "oil" faśei) / and of the evening (favitic??). (Also) a three-fold (ci-sum) (libation?) in the morning (θesan-e) and during the noon (hour) (uslan-e-c) / to the beautiful (mlaχe) Lur (probably an underworld god; name may be related to Latin luridus "pale") and Zer (probably also an underworld god, seen, probably also in 2.2)."

Without parentheticals, etc: "And invoke the hetra and the works and the Ciminian gods. Make ritual observation of the fire in the rinu**. Make a libation three times.**

Make an offering to Θesan of Tin and to Θesan of the Dark Gods. For them make an appropriate offering with oil of the morning and of the evening.

Also make a three-fold libation in the morning and during the noon hour to the beautiful Lur and Zer ."

The phrase "Θesan of Tin and to Θesan of the Dark Gods" may refer to morning and evening appearances of the planet/Goddess Venus.

The phrase zec aθeliś at 5.22 is opaque. The word zec also occurs at 2.2, but aθeliś ("of aθeli"?) is not otherwise attested. The phrase śacnicla / cilθl śpural meθlumeśc enas 5.22-23 also occurs in various forms throughout the text, first at 2.2-3. The final phrase cla θesan "in the morning" regularly marks the end of ritual offerings.

Continuing the series on the Liber Linteus. (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

Much of this column consists of formulas that have already appeared above. The mention of "first fruits" suggests that we are in spring, but no date is clearly mentioned in the extant text. The Deity in Crap is invoked in C, and various deities are called on to receive offerings in D. E and F are missing.

A

1 [...]e[

2 eθrse . tinśi . tiurim . avilś . χiś . ec[n zeri lecin]

3 inc . zec . fler . θezince . cisum . pute . t[ul . θans]

4 hatec . repinec . meleri . sveleric . sv[ec . an]

5 cś . mele . θun . mutince . θezine . ruz[e

Notes: For 4.2-4, see similar text at 2.n2-5, 2.2-4, and 2.8-9. mele-ri "for crops."

4.4-6 (from svec): "And the Sve priest, he who (an) / of this (place, or occasion?) has had the first (θun) fruit (mele) collected (mutince), presents ( θezine) [them] according to custom and ritual rules (ruze / nuzlχne-c ??)."

More smoothly and taking some liberties:

"And the Sve priest who has collected the first fruits from this place, will then present them according to custom and to the rules of ritual."

B

6 [nuzlχne]c . śpureri . meθlumeric . enaś

7 raχθ . tura ] zarfneθ . zuśleveś . nunθen

8 [farθan . f]lereś . in . crapśti . cletram

9 [śrenχv]e . raχθ . tura . heχśθ . vinum

10 [nunθen . c]letram . śrenχve . raχθ . suθ

11 [zarfneθ .] zuśleveś . nunθen . estrei

Notes: Most of these phrases repeat what has been seen in 2.n2, 2.n5, 2.10-11, 3.17-18. Rix's reconstruction farθan means ''genius/tutelary spirit'' (of the deity that is in Craps).

4.11-12 : "Offer with roasted (estre-i ??) barley / (alϕazei) on the adorned litter."

C

12 alϕazei . cletram . śrenχve . eim . tul . var

13 raχθ . tur . nunθenθ . faśi .cntram . ei . tul

14 var . celi . suθ heχśθ . vinm . trin . flere

15 in . crapśti . un mlaχ . nunθen . χiś . esviśc

16 faśei...(the rest of 16-19 follows 4.3-6 from ''cisum'' to ''enaś'')

4.12-16 "and do not (ei-m) finish (tul), [but] var (listen? wait?); / give to the fire, offering oil during this same (if cntram is for cntnam as in 7.2, etc) ["morning"?]; do not finish, / [but] var [and] place (suθ) [it] on the ground (cel-i). Pour a libation (heχśθ?) of wine; invoke (trin) the spirit (flere) / who (in) (is) in Craps; for him (un) present (nunθen) an appropriate (or "nice" mlaχ) [offering] with the oil (faśei) of the χi [day/festival?] and of the esvi [day/festival??]..."

More smoothly and taking some liberties:

"and do not yet complete the ritual, but wait; give offerings into the fire, offering oil during this same morning; still do not finish it, but wait and place the offering on the ground. Pour a libation of wine; invoke the Spirit who is in Craps; present for him an appropriate offering with the oil of the Kalends and of the Ides..."

D

19 ... sin . flere in . crapśti

20 χiś . esviśc . fase . śin . aiser . faśe . śin

21 aiś . cemnac . faśeiś . raχθ . sutanaś . celi

22 suθ . eisna . pevaχ . vinum . trau . pruχś

(18 is illegible. A blank space of at least two lines follows line 22. E and F are missing.)

4.19-22: ""Receive (sin), oh Spirit (flere) who (in) (is) in Craps, with oil (fase) of χi day(?) and of the ides (esvi-ś-c?); receive, oh gods, with oil; receive, oh Ciminian god, with oil," placing (sutanaś) [it/them] in the fire (raχθ), [or] place (suθ) [it/them] on the earth (celi) / [according to the] new (pevaχ?) ritual (eisna?)."

More smoothly and taking some liberties: "...and say: "Receive this offering, oh Spirit that is in Craps, with the oil of the Kalends and with the oil of the Ides. Receive the offering, oh Gods, with the same oils. Receive the offerings, oh Ciminian God, with the same oils." Say this, placing the offering in the fire, or placing them on the earth according to the new ritual practices."

Notes: The forms sin/śin seem to mean "receive," making the deity names that follow each vocatives. The phrase aiś cemnac may refer to a god (aiś) of a region *Ciminium; compare Lacus Ciminius the Latin name for modern Lago di Vico, and San Martina al Cimino just to its north.

The B, E and F strips are missing. (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

There are some notably parallel passages between this column and column 8 (see below).

A

[...]-θ

2 mulac . l-[...hu]rsi . puruθn . epris

3 hilare . a[cilθ...]mulaχ . zuśleva

4 mac cav[eθ...vin]um . huslna

5 laetim . h[amϕi...cluc]traś . caperi

Notes:

In lines 2 and 3, mula-c/χ probably means "dedicate" or "appropriate" based on the frequency of its occurrence on votives. In line 3, hilare acilθ probably means "it being necessary (acil-θ) to acquire..." The phrase mulaχ zuśleva mac (3-4) probably means "appropriate (or suitable) five (mac) pigs."

In line 4, vinum huslna seems to mean "new(ly opened) wine". In line 5, laetim hamϕi probably means "on the left and on the right", a fairly frequent pairing, and compare hamϕes laeś below in 10.6. The pair cluctraś caperi is obscure but may refer to the clothing of the officiating priest, perhaps "cloaks and cape" or "vestiments."

So an attempt at a somewhat connected translation to this damaged passage filling in some holes based on parallels:

"...It being necessary to (first?) assemble the appropriate (material for sacrifice?) on the left and the right, it being necessary to assemble the puruth for the funeral feast, and it being necessary to acquire five suitable pigs, ... (pour out as a libation) newly opened wine on the left and on the right...(having laid out??) the vestiments...."

C

12 [fl]er . etnam . tesim . etnam . c[elucn]

13 cletram . śrenχve . trin . θezine . χim . fler

14 tarc . mutinum . anancveś . nac . cal . tarc

15 θezi . vacl . an . ścanince . saucsaθ . persin

16 cletram . śrenχve . iχ . ścanince . clz . vacl

17 ara . nunθene . śaθaś . naχve . heχz . male

A tentative partial translation: "The sacrifice (fler), be it funerary (tesim), [or] be it chthonic (cel-ucn) [is to be put] / on the decorated litter. Then say (trin): 'The sacrifice (fler) and the tar are presented (θezine) as the offering (χim).'/ And collect (mutinu-m) the goblets (anancveś ?? if related to Latin anancaeum Greek anagkaion "large drinking cup"; otherwise "collect whatever [is left]"); and then (na-c) present (θezi) the dog (cal) and the tar (bull? puppy?). / The libation (vacl) that (an) was poured (ścanince?) saucsaθ persin (??) / just as (iχ) it was poured on the decorated litter. Make (ara) the libation three times (ciz). / Make (or "announce"?) the offering (nunθene) [as it has been] established (śaθaś)), carry [it] out (heχz) as is appropriate (naχve), [and] observe (male) [the appropriate rituals](??)."

For a more fluid translation, dropping brackets and notes and taking some liberties:

"The sacrifice, be it funerary or be it chthonic, is to be put on the decorated litter.

Then say : 'The sacrifice and the tar are presented as the offering,' and collect whatever is left. And then present the dog and the tar.

Let the libation be poured on the decorated litter just the way it was pour for Saucsaθ in Perugia.

Make the libation three times. Make the offering as it has been established, carry it out as is appropriate, and observe the appropriate rituals."

Notes: In the Tabula Capuana, in lines 2 and 6, the form savc-nes is thought to be the name of a god(dess?), and it may be related to the form sauc-saθ in 3.15.

The word cal at 3.14 is also seen at 10.14, and it appears on a statue of a dog, making the meaning likely.

D

18 vinum . usi . trin[θ] . flere . in crapśti

19 un . mlaχ . nunθen . θaclθi . θarθie . ciar

20 huslne . vinum . eśi . sese . ramue . racuśe

21 faśei śpureśtres . enaś . eθrse . tinśi

22 tiurim . avilś . χiś . cisum . pute . tul . θans

23 hantec . repine[c] . śpureri . meθlumeric

24 [enaś? ...]

"Scoop (usi) the wine, saying (trin-θ): 'Oh spirit (flere) that (in) [is] in Craps, / to him (un) make a nice (mlaχ) offering (nunθen = "offer, make an offering").' On the chair (θacl-θi?) [and] on the bed (θar-θie??) make (-ar) a three(-fold offering? ci-) with new wine, or (eśi) [make the offering] with sesa [or] with ramua [or] with racusa [or] with oil (faś-ei?)..." The rest follows the sequence first seen in 2.n2ff.

Again, for a more fluid translation, dropping brackets and notes and taking some liberties:

"Scoop the wine, saying: 'Oh spirit that is in Craps, to him make an appropriate offering.' On the chair and on the bed, make a threefold offering, with new wine, or make the offering with sesa drink, resin wine, berry wine, or oil ..." 

Notes: If these latter untranslated words--eś-i . ses-e . ramu-e . racuś-e --are fluids as wine and oil are, and if ramu- can be connected with Latin ramus branch and racus to Greek rha:x, rha:gos "berry," perhaps these mean respectively something like "resin wine" and "berry wine." Note the similar sequence in 8.7-8 ramurθi reuχzineti ramueθ, especially notable since right before it in 8.7 is the sequence caveθ zuślevac mac "three pigs (as offerings) must be cave-d" and the same sequence though in a different order is also seen on this column at 3.3-4: zuśleva mac cav[eθ. The sequence vinum huslna also occurs in both this column (3.3) and in the passage being discussed in column 8 at 8.5, but again in the opposite order: huslna vinum.

The forms sesa (and sesui) occur on cups, so this is presumably also some drinkable liquid.

The phrase flere in crapś-ti in 3.18 recurs frequently, and seems to mean "the spirit (flere or "deity") that (in) [is] in Craps." The latter term is thought to be connected to the Umbrian god Grabovius mentioned frequently in the Iguvine Tablets, but also perhaps connected to oak trees. Oaks were also sacred to Jupiter, and being dense were particularly prone to lightening strikes.

Rix (1985) thought the phrase (whatever its exact meaning) was a tabu replacement for Bacchus, as the worship of that god had been forbidden by Rome in 186 bce (though this assumes a later date for the composition of this text than is generally accepted).

As laetim hamϕi seem to mean "on the left (and) on the right," the similarly much repeated ha(n)te-c repine-c (and variations thereof) may mean "both in front and behind," or "both good and propitious"

This continues my series on the oldest book.

 (For a bibliography, see the first post in this series: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClenarSecharkaRasnal/comments/1dprj7k/liber_linteusupdates_from_recent_scholarship/ )

The B, E and F strips are missing. The 'n' before the line numbers in A indicate that, since we don't know how much of the beginning of the A strip is missing, we can't be sure what actual line the first word would have been in, so 'n1' means 'first extant' line in this strip.

A

n1 [...] śacnistreś

n2 cilθś . śpureśtreśc . ena ś . eθrse . tinśi

n3 tiurim . avilś . χiś . cisum . pute . tul. θansur

n4 haθrθi . repinθic . śacnicleri . cilθl

n5 śpureri . meθlumeric . ena ś . suθ . raχti

Notes: The phrase śacnicstreś cilθś śpureśtreśc enaś (2A 1–2) probably means "the sacred fraternity of the citadel and the city of enaś "(perhaps "city of the dead"--see below). It is repeated with a slight variations in lines 4-5 and elsewhere. The sequence from eθrse in 2.n2 to enaś in 2.n5 is repeated in Column 2 strip C lines 5–8.

The certain words in this section include tinśi "on (the) day," tiuri-m "and in the month" and avil-ś "of the year" which make it clear that we are dealing with some kind of ritual calendar. The sequence χiś cisum probably means "three-fold" (ci-sum) sacrifice (χiś). There seems to be little scholarly agreement on the rest of the words, though in many cases the grammatical endings can be safely determined. So my partial translation:

"..the sacred fraternity of the citadel and the city of the dead (?) eθrse on the day and in the month of the year that is appropriate (?) place (pute ??) a threefold sacrifice in front and in back of (haθrθi . repinθic?) the θansur stone (tul ?). The sacred fraternity of the citadel and the city and meθlumeri of the dead (shall) place in the fire (suθ raχti ?)..."

C

2 [...ec]n zeri . lecin . inc . zec

3 faśle . hemsince . śacnicleri . cilθl

4 śpureri . meθlumeric . enaś . śvelstrec . svec . an

5 cś . mene . utince . ziχne . śetirunec . eθrse . tinśi

7 tiurim . avilś . χiś . cisum . pute . tul. θansur

8 haθrθi . repinθic . śacnicleri . cilθl

9 śpureri . meθlumeric . ena ś

D

10 raχθ . tura . nunθenθ . cletram . śrenχve

11 tei . faśei . zarfneθ . zuśle . nunθen

12 farθan . aiseraś . śeuś . cletram . śrencve

13 raχθ . tura . nunθenθ . tei . faśei . nunθenθ ...

Notes: The word śvel-s-tre-c in 2.4 shows up as śvele-re-c in 2.8, in both cases probably to be translated "for/on behalf of the living beings" if this is from the verb śval-/śvel- "live." If this, as it seems, is in coordination with the preceding word enaś, it could be contrasting with it, meaning that this otherwise mysterious word refers to the city or land of the dead. It is generally assumed that ena- is the name of an actual city somewhere in the part of Italy where this text is from, but no such has been identified with certainty.

In 2.10 and 13, tura is the verb "give." In 2.10, 11, 12 (and throughout much of the rest of the text), nunθen(θ) is a well attested Etruscan verb that may mean "offer, make an offering" or "announce." In 2.10 and 12, cletram is a well attested apparent borrowing from the Umbrian Language kletram (accusative of kletra) "litter" to carry animals and fruit involved in the rite. (In general, there are a number of apparent parallels and word matches between the Liber Linteus and the Umbrian Iguvine Tablets.) As a borrowing, it is uninflected in Etruscan. It is modified by the apparent adjective śrenχve of uncertain meaning, but probably it means something like "decorated".

In lines 2.11 and 13, tei faśei probably means "with this oil (''faśei'')," and zuśle is a well attested word referring to an animal to be sacrificed, probably a piglet.

So a tentative translation from 2.10 to nunθen at the end of D.11 would be:

"...give it into the fire. Make an offering on the decorated litter: With this oil, offer the zarfneθ ("unblemished"?) piglet on the decorated litter, offering it to the spirit of the Gods of Darkness. On the decorated litter, give it into the fire. Make another offering with this oil, offering..."

In line 12, farθan seems to refer to some kind of divine power or ''genius loci'', also mentioned in column 4 line 8 and in column 9 line 14. The next phrase, aiseraś śeuś is the genitive plural of "of the śeu gods," though what specific gods these refer to is unclear. The phrase recurs in column 12 line 2, and also in column 5 line 8 in the phrase eiser śic śeuc which probably is pairing two contrasting sets of gods, probably gods of light and (gods of) darkness.

Sometimes called the oldest book in the world, this amazing text has been largely overlooked by the mainstream, mostly because it was long considered almost completely untranslatable. But recent scholarship has made advances, and translations and partial translations of significant parts of the texts have been proposed by established scholars, most recently in thorough studies by van der Meer (2007) and Belfiore (2010) (see below). This will be the first of a series of posts presenting this scholarship, clarifying some of it, and in some cases making further modest proposals.

I will be going through the 12 columns of the text one by one. Because the text was torn up to make mummy wrappings, each column got divided into strips, represented here with capital letters A, B, C etc. The E strip is missing in all the columns. Elements in [square brackets] are missing or reconstructed, usually based on parallel texts.

Column 1

The first column is badly damaged, with just the words at the end of some lines legible from the fourth (D) strip:

1 [...zi]χri . epa . fira

2 [...]. versum . spanza

3 [...] etraśa .

4 [...] ziχri . cn . θunt

5 [...]uχtiθur

Notes: The form ziχ-ri in lines 1 and 4 is from a well attested root ziχ "to write," with the necessitive ending -ri yielding "has to be written." Van der Meer tentatively proposes that epa fira are nouns in asyndetic coordination starting a new clause or sentence, meaning "the meal and the funerary symposium" (in the sense "drinking ceremony"), taking epa to be related to Latin epulum "feast, banquet." Evidence that drinking was part of funerary rituals in early Italy can be found in the Latin Law of the Twelve Tables, where in the tenth table, devoted to rules around funerals, it says: "Anointing by slaves is abolished and every kind of drinking-bout..."

In line 2, spanza seems to be a diminutive of a well attested word for "vase" or "dish" spant-.

In line 4, cn is the accusative of ca "this" so not part of the clause with the immediately preceding ziχri "must be written." The form θu-n-t seems to be a -t participle of a verb θu-n- "to be first," itself from the well attested word for "one" θu. Together, cn θunt may be an accusative temporal clause meaning "during the first daylight." The other words are otherwise unknown or of uncertain meaning, but the fact that we have two verbs in the necessitive suggests that this portion of the text involves a series of verbs in the same mood. So here is my own very disjointed guess at what we can glean from this section:

(Something or other) must be written. The funerary meal and drinking ceremony (must be conducted?)...a small versum dish (must be placed somewhere?)... etraśa ... must be written. At first light of dawn (something else must be done) ... uχtiθur

Note that etraśa, whatever that may mean, is not necessarily in the same sentence or clause as ziχri "must be written."

Here are some of the texts consulted in putting this material together:

• Olzscha, K. (1959). "Die Kalendardaten der Agramer Mumienbinden" [The calendar data from the Zagreb mummy wrappings]. Aegyptus (in German). 39 (3/4): 340–355. ISSN 0001-9046. JSTOR 41215687.
• Pfiffig, A. J. (1963) "Studien zu den Agramer Mumienbinden" in Denkschriften der Österreichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, philosophisch-historische Klasse Bd. 81 Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien.
• Fowler, M and R. G. Wolfe (preparers) (1965) Materials for the Study of the Etruscan Language University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 108-112.[2]
• Roncalli, F. (1978-1980) "Osservazioni sui libri lintei etruschi" in Rendiconti. Pontificia Accademia 51-52 [1982], pp. 3-21.
• Rix, H. (1985) "Il liber linteus di Zagabria" in Scrivere etrusco pp. 17-52.
• Pallottino, M. (1986) "Il libro etrusco della uimmia di Zagabria. Significato e valore storico e linguistico del documento" in Vjesnik Arheološkog Muzeja u Zagrebu 19, pp. 1-5.
• Pfiffig, A. J. (1986) "Zur Heuristik des Liber linteus zagrabiensis" Vjesnik Arheološkog Muzeja u Zagrebu 19, pp. 9–13.
• Flury-Lemberg, M. (1986) "Die Rekonstruktion des liber linteus Zagrabiensis oder die Mumienbinden von Zagreb," Vjesnik Arheološkog Muzeja u Zagrebu 19, pp. 73–79
• Mirnik, I., Rendić-Miočević, A. (1996) "Liber linteus Zagrbiensis I" Vjesnik Arheološkog Muzeja u Zagrebu 19, pp. 41–71.
• Mirnik, I., Rendić-Miočević, A. (1997) "Liber linteus Zagrbiensis II" Vjesnik Arheološkog Muzeja u Zagrebu 20, pp. 31–48.
• Rix, H. (1991) Etruskische Texte: Editio minor. I-II, Tübingen.
• Steinbauer, D.H. (1999) Neues Handbuch des Etruskischen (Studia Classica, Band 1) St. Katharinen.
• Wylin, Koen (2000). Il verbo etrusco : ricerca morfosintattica delle forme usate in funzione verbale (in Italian). Roma: L'Erma di Bretschneider. ISBN 978-88-8265-084-1. OCLC 44098559.
• van der Meer, L. B. (2007) Liber linteus zagrabiensis. The Linen Book of Zagreb. A Comment on the Longest Etruscan Text. Louvain/Dudley, MA ISBN 978-90-429-2024-8.
• Turfa, J. M. (2008) Review of van der Meer, L. B. (2007) Liber linteus zagrabiensis. The Linen Book of Zagreb. A Comment on the Longest Etruscan Text. Louvain/Dudley, MA
• Woudhuizen, F. C. (2008). "Ritual prescriptions in the Etruscan Liber linteus". Res Antiquae. 5. Bruxelles: Safran: 281–296. ISSN 1781-1317.
• Belfiore, V. (2010) Il liber linteus di Zagabria: testualità e contenuto. Biblioteca di Studi Etruschi 50 Pisa-Roma. ISBN 978-88-6227-194-3.
• van der Meer, L. B. (2011) Review of V. Belfiore's Il liber linteus di Zagabria (2010) in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 1.36 [3]
• Meiser, G. (2012) "Umbrische Kulte im Liber Linteus?", in Kulte, Riten, religise Vorstellung bei den Etruskern, a cura di P.Amman, Wien, 163-172. [4]
• Woudhuizen, F. C. (2013) The Liber linteus: A Word for Word Commentary to and Translation of the Longest Etruscan Text. Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft, Neue Folge, Bd 5. Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck Bereich Sprachwissenschaft. ISBN 9783851242317. [Pretty much discredited by Tikkanen (2014) below]
• Tikkanen, K. W. (2014) Review of Woudhuizen, F. C. (2013) in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 11.16 [5]
• Belfiore, V (2016) "Sacrifici cruenti e incruenti nei 'testi paralleli' del Liber Linteus," in: A.Ancillotti – A.Calderini – R.Massarelli (eds.), Forme e strutture della religione nell’Italia mediana antica / Forms and Structures of Religion in Ancient Central Italy, Atti del III Convegno dell’Istituto di Ricerche e Documentazione sugli antichi Umbri (IRDAU), Perugia – Gubbio, 21-25 settembre 2011, Roma. pp. 35-46.
• Belfiore, V. (2018) "La nozione di sacer in etrusco: dai riti del liber linteus a ritroso," in: T.Lanfranchi (ed.). Autour de la notion de sacer, Actes de la journée d’étude, Rome, 4 avril 2014, Roma. pp. 39-59.
• Dupraz, E. (2019) Tables Eugubines ombriennes et Livre de lin étrusque: Pour une reprise de la comparaison Herman: Paris ISBN 979-1037000903.

I posted on here some time ago with my transcription/ translation of an Etruscan inscription from one of the votive statuettes recently excavated at San Casciano dei Bagni. My reading of what's now apparently known as S. Casciano Inscription no. 3 was:

av scarpe av welimnal persac cwer flereś hawensl

In 2023, Adriano Maggiani confirmed this, but translated is as:

Aule Scarpe son of Aule and of a Persian Velimnei (gave it) as a sacred thing to the goddess of the spring.

I have no doubt this is correct, but I'd like to see how he got there. Also, that's Persia as in the area we now know as Perugia, not what we now know as Iran.