Forged Horatius Inscription

3D Model

Uncovered at the Roman villa of Vacone in 2014 within a disturbed context, a coarseware rim bearing a post cocturam (after firing) graffito: Horatius. This is clearly meant to represent the gentilicium of the famous poet Horace in the nominative case. Its unusual letterforms, the framing of the text on the sherd, positioned more or less in the center of the remaining surface area, and its orthography, which uses the vocalic letter “U” instead of “V”, obviously indicates it is a modern forgery. A local tradition, dating back to the 15th century, erroneously identifies the Vacone villa as the famous Sabine estate of Horace. For more, see Notarian, Bloy, and Farney, “Forgery and the Antiquarian Tradition: The Identification of Horace’s Sabine Villa at Vacone.” MAAR 61 (2016): 40-58.