Cippus Perusinus

The Cippus Perusinus is a stone tablet (cippus) discovered on the hill of San Marco, in Perugia, Italy, in 1822. The tablet bears 46 lines of incised Etruscan text, about 130 words. The cippus, which seems to have been a border stone, appears to display a text dedicating a legal contract between the Etruscan families of Velthina (from Perugia) and Afuna (from Chiusi), regarding the sharing or use, including water rights, of a property upon which there was a tomb belonging to the noble Velthinas.

The date of the inscription is considered to be 3rd or 2nd century BC. The Cippus is conserved in the National Archeological Museum of Perugia.

Original text
Formatted according to latest theory by F. Roncalli for the original lines, distorted when they were copied onto this stone. There are no capital letters in the original, but known and certain names are capitalized below. Lines in parentheses are those of the actual cippus. Word spacing is mostly hypothetical.

Front

 * (1) eurat . tanna . La Rezu L /(2) ame vaχr lautn.
 * Velθinaś e/(3)śtla Afunas sleleθ caru/
 * (4) tezan fuśleri tesnś teiś /(5) raśneś ipa ama
 * hen naper /(6) XII ( twelve ) Velθinaθuraś araś pe/(7)raśc
 * emulm lescul zuci en/(8)esci epl tularu/


 * (9) Aulesi Velθinas Arznal cl/(10)ensi . θii . θil
 * ścuna . cenu e/(11)plc felic Larθalś Afuneś/


 * (13!) falaś χiem fuśle Velθina /(12!)[...] clen θunχulθe/
 * (14) hinθa cape municlet masu / (15) naper śran czl
 * θii falaśt V/(16)elθina hut naper pen ezś/
 * (17) masu acnina . clel . Afuna Vel/(18)θina mler
 * zinia inte mame/(19)r cnl Velθina zia śatene/


 * (20) tesne eca Velθina θuraś θ/(21)aura helu
 * tesne raśne cei /(22) tesnś teiś raśneś
 * χimθ śp/(23)el θuta ścuna Afuna mena /(24) hen
 * naper ci cnl hare utuśe /...

Tentative translation
From van der Meer (following Facchetti and others) with some adjustments of word order:


 * La(rt) Rezul, son of Lart was the arbitrator for this (case). The family (lautn)
 * of Velthina took (caru) an oath (vaχr) along with one (member) from (the family) of Athuna.
 * May they accept (fusle-ri?) (this) as property (tezan?) according to the Etruscan law (tesnś teiś raśneś), that (there) be
 * 12 measures (naper) of (or "for"?) the Velthina (family), both moving (through it) and crossing (it) (araś peraśc?),
 * (that is) in length and in width (emulm lescul), through our declaration (zuci enesci?), up to the place of (these?) boundary stone(s).
 * As to Aule Velthinas, son of Arznei, (and) as to the water: He (Aule) may grant (ścuna) the (drawing) of water (θil)
 * (which was) acquired (cenu), both for ep- and with the (appropriate?) price (feli?), by Larth Afuna.
 * (As for?) the stake (falaś), Velthina [NAME's?] son, by covenant (θunχulθe), holds (cape) every property (χiem fuśle) behind it (i.e. the stake).
 * In the sacred place, (there are) five measures (of land), their
 * (extent stretching) between the water and the stake. Velthina may own (acnina) six measures next to five (?).
 * Afuna may satisfy (mlerzinia) Velthina on these (things),
 * about which (things) (he is) guarantor (mamer). Velthina disposes (śatene) these things (as is) right (zia).
 * By law this tomb (is) the Velthina family's own tomb,
 * through this Etruscan disposition according to the Etruscan law.
 * In sum, (the agreement) allows only one carve out (śpel) (or 'exception'; literally 'cave' 'cavity'): Afuna may keep
 * three measures (of land) here. Across these, he (may) enter (hare?)and lead (utuśe) (livestock)...

Side

 * (25)...Velθina ś/(26)atena
 * zuc/(27)i enesci. i/(28)pa. śpelane/(29)θi. fulumχ/(30)va.
 * śpelθi. /(31) reneθi. eśt/(32)ac Velθina /(34) acilune.
 * turune. śc/(35)une. zea. zuc/(36)i. enesci. aθ/(37)umicś.
 * Afu/(38)naś. penθn/(39)a. ama. Velθ/(40)ina. Afun(a) /(41)
 * θuruni. ein /(42) zeriuna. cl/(43)a. θil. θunχ/(44)ulθl.
 * iχ. ca /(45) ceχa. ziχuχ/(46)e

Tentative translation
Following van der Meer, as above:


 * May Velthina order
 * through our declaration (?) that as to the grotto, the sacred objects
 * shall stay in the grotto at his disposal(?). And the same Velthuna shall do,
 * give, and make good the right (things), through our declaration(?).
 * The cippus (penthna) will be (the property) of the noble (athumicś) Afuna. Velthina will not prosecute (ein zeriuna) Athuna through (judicial) authority (thurune?). This is the accord concerning the water (rights),
 * as it is written above.