Praeneste fibula
The
Praeneste fibula or
Præneste fibula (the "brooch of
Palestrina") is a golden brooch that was once thought to be the earliest surviving specimen of the
Latin language, but is now thought by most scholars to have been a
hoax.
The fibula was discovered in
Palestrina and is now kept at the
Museo Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini in
Rome.
The fibula was thought to originate from the
7th century BCE.It is inscribed with the
Old Latin text:
MANIOS MED FHEFHAKED NVMASIOI
Which, in
Classical Latin, is:
MANIVS ME FECIT NVMERIO
Or:
Manius fashioned me for Numerius
If the consensus is correct that the Praeneste fibula is a hoax, the true earliest surviving evidence of Latin is the
Viminal Vessel, dated 100 years later to the
6th century BCE.
For an explanation of why the fibula is likely a 19th‑century
forgery, see:
* Arthur E. Gordon, "Illustrated Introduction to Latin Epigraphy", Berkeley/Los Angeles/London 1983, ISBN 0520038983
* Larissa Bonfante, "Etruscan Life and Afterlife: A Handbook of Etruscan Studies", Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1986
For those who continue to hold out the view that the fibula is authentic, see:
* Winfred P. Lehmann, "Historical Linguistics", Routledge; 3rd edition, January, 1993
* R. Wachter, Altlateinische Inschriften. Sprachliche und epigraphische Untersuchungen zu den Dokumenten bis 150 v. Chr. Bern etc. 1987.
* E. Formigli, Indagini archeometriche sull'autenticità della Fibula Praenestina. MDAI(R) 99 (1992) 329-343, Taf. 88-96.
