The Eugubine Tables

This is the name given to seven bronze tablets, the inscriptions on which present a remarkable memorial of the Umbrian language.

The Umbrians are spoken of as the aborigines of Italy, and tradition leads us to believe that they at one time occupied the whole of that country; but when they come before us as a distinct people, they occupy only a small district west of Etruria, and north of the country of the Sabines.

The Umbrians joined with the Samnites in the wars against Rome, and repelled as long as possible the Roman supremacy. They were finally conquered, and were the faithful allies of Rome during the Punic wars. In the year 90 B.C. they received the Roman franchise, and disappear as a separate people. The Umbrian language is the oldest Italian dialect.

These bronze tables were discovered in 1444, in a subterranean chamber at Gubbio (the ancient name of Eugubium), where they are still preserved.

The inscriptions consist of directions concerning sacrificial usages, and forms of prayer; and they seem to have been inscribed three or four centuries before the Christian era.

The most accurate copy of the inscriptions was given by Lepsius, in 1841.