Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Some Roman Graffiti


When one thinks of graffiti they usually call to mind some spraypainted tag on the side of a dilapidated brick building or bawdy scrawls in a bathroom stall. Believe it or not, the Romans had graffiti too; some of it is rather 'modern sounding' and one could imagine running into messages something like them in a random spot in a modern city. Here are some taken from Shelton's As the Romans Did 2nd Ed. These were in Pompeii and were preserved when it was buried by the volcano eruption.


Aufidius was here.

Marcus loves Spendusa.

I have screwed many girls here. (found in a brothel)

Albanus is a bugger.

I am amazed, O wall, that you have not collapsed and fallen, since you must bear the tedious stupidities of so many scrawlers.

On April 19 I baked bread.

Let anyone who invites me to dinner prosper.

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