Special module:
Lapis Niger
The Black Stone of Rome
Watch this video to learn about the Lapis Niger, an ancient Roman shrine, with Dr. Josh Cannon of the University of Pittsburgh.
About the scholar:
Dr. Josh Cannon is the National Fellowships Advisor in the David C. Frederick Honors College at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as an instructor in the Classics and Anthropology departments. Before attending the University of Pittsburgh as an undergraduate, he served for 5 years as an Arabic Cryptologic Linguist in the Marine Corps, reaching the rank of sergeant. At Pitt, he majored in Anthropology and Linguistics and graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from the Honors College, and he went on to earn his PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 2020. Dr. Cannon's research focuses on Late Bronze Age ceramic traditions in central Turkey as well as GIS and 3D scanning applications in archaeology and historical geography. As an archaeologist, he has conducted fieldwork in Turkey, Cyprus, New York, Illinois, and Wyoming.
Further Reading:
Mary Beard, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Liverlight. 2016.
Robert E. A. Palmer, The King and the Comitium; A Study of Rome's Oldest Public Document. Wiesbaden. 1969.
And, if you want to do more of a deep-dive:
Christian Hülsen, The Lapis Niger and the Grave of Romulus. Ermanno Loescher and Co. 1906.
Latin Vocabulary:
Words in bold on DCC Latin Core Vocabulary List
Proper Names:
Cornēlia, Cornēliae, f. - Cornelia
Iūlia, Iūliae, f. - Julia
Nouns:
forum, forī, n. - forum
comitium, comitiī, n. - place of a comitia
comitia, comitiārum, n. (in plural) - an assembly of the people
lapis, lapidis, m. - stone
rēx, rēgis, m. - king
cūriā, cūriae, f. - court, senate meeting house
Adjectives:
niger, nigra, nigrum* - black, evil, ill-omened
*This word is the origin of the modern English racial slur, as it provides the word for 'black' in several Romance languages. However, this word is pronounced differently: ([ˈnɪɡɛr], like 'knee' and the first syllable of 'garrison'). It does not have a specifically racial or ethnic meaning in Latin. Rather, it refers to a 'shiny black' color (as opposed to āter, 'matte black'), like, as here, a shiny black stone. The Latin word's negative connotation is likely derived from its association with darkness and death, including the shadows of the underworld, rather than racist ideas about skin color.