Fake News from the Past

 

Credit:  Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

Exposing fake news from the past has been the focus of ancient history experts who have analyzed artifacts from antique dealers, museums and private collections in order to examine their authenticity.

Historical falsification and manuscript studies with an emphasis on ancient inscriptions that are presented as authentic will be the focus of two symposia organized by Ca’ Foscari on October 10th and 13th – the most important European symposium on Roman epigraphy and a symposium on epigraphic falsification in Italy, part of a three-year project coordinated by Lorenzo Calvelli and funded by the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research. During two days, more than 50 experts coming from Italy and France will discuss their latest findings.

THE CASE STUDY

From Arezzo to Baltimore: Trailing the forger Sententiosus

Credit:  Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

In the Casa Museo Ivan Bruschi in the city of Arezzo a mysterious Latin inscription can be found on a small slab of marble. Until now it had not been noticed by experts. The only known information about the artifact was where it came from: It was part of the private collection of the counts Vitali that was in display in their beautiful villa in Fermo (in the Marche region) and is now dispersed.

On the slab of marble one can read a sentence from the Bible: “Erudimini qui iudicatis terram”, “Learn, you who judge on Earth”. Andrea Raggi (Università di Pisa) and Carlo Slavich (Sapienza Università di Roma) analyzed the inscription and cast new light on another artifact with a similar inscription in display at the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum in Baltimore.

Lorenzo Calvelli (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)

Credit:  Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

The latter had been universally recognized as authentic by experts who classified it as an Early Christian funerary inscription. A fortunate coincidence allowed to prove beyond any doubt that the two artifacts which had been purchased from an antique dealer in Rome at the beginning of the 20th century were in fact produced by a modern forger. The two scholars decided to name their author Sententiosus – the judgement producer – for the edifying quality of the inscriptions.

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Contacts and sources:
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
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