THE LAPIS SCELERATA, C2 CE. SS. VITO E MODESTO, ROME There is no obvious reason why this particular funeral altar should have been singled out for veneration in the Middle Ages. It is dedicated to the eternal spirit of one Lucius Aelius Tertius by his uncle. A large part of the inscription has been worn away beginning with a big hole a centre that goes 3 or 4 cm into the marble. A metal file was used for centuries to wear away the marble into dust, which the faithful would mix with water and drink as a cure for rabies, a disease which caused spasms of motion called "St Vitus' Dance". The altar was thought to have been bathed in the blood of martyrs and this sacred elixir lent its power to the stone dust. So the marble was set into the wall of St Vitus' church, and rabies sufferers took its dust as a cure.
For #SpoliaSunday I give you the Stone of Iniquity. This C2 CE tombstone is set into the wall of the church of #SanVito on the #Esquiline in #Rome. In the Middle Ages it was thought to have been an instrument of #Christian martyrdom, and marble dust scraped from it cured #rabies. #AncientBluesky 🏺
