A graffito in this town says, “be healthy, Victoria; wherever you are, may you sneeze sweetly.” For 10 points each:
[10e] Name this Roman town whose well-preserved graffiti, such as the oldest SATOR (“SAH-toar”) magic square, are rivaled only by those of its neighbors Stabiae and Herculaneum.
ANSWER: Pompeii
[10h] Pompeii’s graffiti is primarily compiled in this comprehensive collection of Roman epigraphy. This epigraphic collection, which was established by Theodor Mommsen, currently comprises 17 volumes arranged geographically.
ANSWER: Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum [or CIL]
[10m] The C·I·L contains many defixiones (“day-feecks-ee-OH-nays”), which are this sort of inscription. 130 tablets bearing this sort of inscription were found in the city of Bath, where victims of thefts threw the tablets into Sulis Minerva’s spring.
ANSWER: curses [or curse tablets; or curse inscriptions; accept the Bath curse tablets]
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