Archaeologists have discovered an inscribed marble slab near the amphitheater at the Villa of Emperor Hadrianus in Tivoli, Italy, at the spot where it was originally buried. The slab bears the inscription “FVLGVR SVBMANIVM,” referring to Summano, Ancient Rome’s god of nighttime lightning, and indicating that the lightning struck at night.
Researchers associate the burial of the slab with the ritual consecration of areas struck by lightning and the divine intervention of lightning. During the Roman period, these places were considered sacred, and objects struck by lightning were collected and buried underground. Daytime lightning was attributed to Jupiter, while nighttime lightning was attributed to Summano.
Excavation director Fabio Giorgio Cavallero described the preservation of the inscription in its original location as an extraordinary find and said the discovery could shed light on the reorganization of spaces at Villa Adriana and the transformation of the monumental site. Alberto Samonà said the find offered insight into the intimate rituals of Roman piety. Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli described the discovery as rare evidence of Roman rituals.
Why it matters
The find is significant because it shows that Roman religion was not limited to public ceremonies and that natural phenomena such as lightning could consecrate specific places through ritual. The association of nighttime and daytime lightning with different gods provides unique evidence for researchers studying distinctions in the religious understanding of the period and the material traces of these beliefs. The preservation of the slab at the site where it was found makes it possible to assess the inscription not in isolation, but together with the way Villa Adriana was used and its spatial layout. For this reason, the discovery has raised again questions about how the monumental site was reorganized over time and which spaces at the villa were connected to ritual practices.