Tabula Capuana

The first legible section likely is devoted to rituals to be held in March (though the Etruscan word for this month, Velcitna, does not occur in the legible text, presumably because it was in the missing parts).

There are three to five initial lines missing and then 30-50 characters missing in the initial damaged lines shown here.[10]

savcanes means ladel to draw the wine with.

...vacil.../²ai savcnes satiriasa.../³...[nunθ?]eri θuθcu

vacil śipir śuri leθamsul

ci tartiria /⁴ cim cleva

ac asri halχtei

vacil iceu śuni savlasie...

(~5-8 characters broken off at the end of this line)

/⁵[mul]uri zile picasri

savlasieis

vacil lunaśie vaca iχnac

fuli/⁶nuśnes

vacil savcnes itna

mulu ri zile pic asri

iane

vacil l/⁷eθamsul scuvune

marzac saca⋮

Notes: In line 1 and throughout, vacil may mean "libation" (or some similar rite or ceremony), in which case each of the first phrases beginning with it presumably indicate what deity to pour a libation to and perhaps other information.[11] However, Steinbauer (agreeing with Rix) has challenged this assumptions and, considering that it seems to be positioned at the beginning of a series of phrases within the contexts of a step-by-step instruction, proposed that vacil (with its variants vacal and vacl) simply means "then."[12]

In line 2, savc-nes according to van der Meer is an Apolline god, perhaps related in form to saucsaθ at 3.15 of the Liber Linteus. The form in the Liber Linteus, preceded as here by the term vacl "libation," also falls in a section that probably deals with March, though as here there is no explicit mention of a month name. The relevant text from that passage of the Liber Linteus is as follows (3.15-3.17): vacl . an . ścanince . saucsaθ . persin / cletram . śrenχve . iχ . ścanince . ciz . vacl / ara roughly "The libation which was poured to Sauc- Pers- (should be performed) with the decorated litter just as it had been poured (before); perform the libation three times."[13]

Note that the ending -nes/-nis also occurs in the forms fulinuś-nes (5-6) and caθ-nis (9), all referring to deities.[14]

In line 2, satiriasa (if one word) may be a form of Satre the Etruscan term for Saturn, which also appears on the Piacenza Liver among chthonic deities.[15] Or it could be in some way connected to or contrasting with tartiria at the end of line 3.[16]

In line three, śuri is a (not necessarily exclusively) chthonic deity.[17] The form also appears on the Lead Plaque of Magliano. Leθam-s appears on the Piacenza Liver among chthonic deities, but may have other connections as well. The genitive is used here as usual for indirect object.[18]

In lines three and four, ci(m) means "three," and both tartiria and cleva indicate kinds of offerings, yielding a possible partial translation: "To Lethams, three tartiria (perhaps related to Greek Tartaros, as if '(gifts) for the underworld'?) offerings and three cleva offerings ..."[19] In line 4, halχ- is likely the name of a kind of vase.[20]

A verbal form of vacil may be seen in line 5: vac-a "make a libation (to)?"; But van der Meer reads faca here, with unknown meaning. A similar form, vac-i is in line 28, also preceding a form of fuli/nuśnes.[21] Also in line 5, lunaśie brings to mind the Roman moon goddess, Luna (which some equate with Cath, see below).

pi-cas(ri) (5,6) is defined by Pallottino as a verb of offering, to be compared with a-cas "to do; to offer." [22] mulu- (4/5, 6) and scu- (7, 10) seem to be roots meaning "to offer, give" and "finish", respectively; and sac- means "carry out a sacred act; consecrate."[23] In lines 5 - 6, fuli/nuśnes may be a form of Fufluns, the Etruscan Dionysus who is associated with the Etruscan goddess Caθa who also seems to be mentioned in this text (see below).[24][25] A somewhat similar form, fuln[folnius] can be found on line 29 of the Tabula Cortonensis.[26]

Note the frequent repetitions (besides vacil): savcnes(2, 6); leθamsul(3, 6/7, 8...); mulu-ri zile picas-ri(4/5, 6, 18/19 but with...a-cas-ri rather than pi-cas-ri); savlasie(is)(4, 5); scu-vune marza(c)(7) versus marza...scuvse(10)...

The second section seems to be devoted to rituals to be held in April.

Etruscan month for April is called cabreas

iśvei tule ilucve apirase

leθamsul ilucu cuiesχu perpri

cipen apires /⁹ racvanies huθ zusle

rithnai tul tei

snuza in te hamaiθi

civeis caθnis fan/¹⁰iri

marza in te hamaiθi

ital sacri

utus ecunza

iti alχu

scuvse

riθnai tu/¹¹ l tei

ci zusle acun siricima nunθeri

eθ iśuma zuslevai apire nunθer/¹²i

avθleθ aium

vacil ia leθamsul nunθeri

vacil ia riθnaita

eθ aθene/¹³ica perpri...

Notes: Line 8: isvei occurs frequently in the Liber Linteus where it appears to mean "festival" or "ides". The formtul(e)(8, 9, 10) in some contexts means "stone," perhaps related to tular "border" (< "stone marking a border"?),[27] itself probably related to (or the origin of?) Umbrian tuder "boundary" also the origin of the Umbrian town name Todi.[28] Here it seems to mean "(on or after) the ides (of a particular month)."[29] According to van der Meer, iluc-ve/u (twice in line 8) means "feast."[30] Of course, iśvei and tule can't both mean "ides," and in any case, the Latin ides originally fell on the full moon and was sacred to Jupiter, but since the deities recognizable here are underworld (leθams and caθ), tul may instead refer to the dark phase of the moon, or the new moon (Latin kalends). As van der Meer points out elaborately elsewhere, the contrast between light and dark gods was very important for the Etruscan calendar and for how they divided up the heavens.[31]

apirase may mean "(in the) month of April."[32] See above for Leθam-sul. Van der Meer translates pep-ri as "must be held."[33] cipen seems to be a priestly title (with variants cepa(r), cepe(n)).[34]

huθ in line 9 means "six," and ci in line 11 means "three." zusle(-vai) (9, 11) means "sacrificial victims" perhaps specifically "piglets."[35][36]

At the end of line 9, caθ-nis may be a form of Catha, an Etruscan goddess, with an ending -nis/-nes also seen above in other theonymns: savc-nes (lines 2 and 6) and fuli/nuś-nes (lines 5-6). Rarely depicted in art, she is number 8 (among celestial gods) and number 23 on the Piacenza Liver.[37]

sacri (10) is certainly connected to words meaning "sacred; victim for sacrifice"—Latin sacer, Umbrian sacra sakra, Oscan sakri-, and to 'saca' in line 7 above.[38][39]

nunθe-ri (11 twice) seems to be a verb "invoke" or "offer," with the necessitive ending -ri also seen in pep-ri(8), picas-ri(5), mulu-ri(4/5), and perhaps śu-ri(3) and sac-ri(10).[40] eθ (11, 12) means "thus."[41] avθ-leθ (12) may be related to avθa "northwind; eagle."[42]

The word acun in line 11 may be from Greek agon (ἀγών) originally "struggle," which came to be used as a term for festivals involving competitive sports; compare Latin Agonalia festivals in honor of Janus in Rome held in January, March, May and December. Later forms show syncope (loss of word-internal vowels): acn-es-em on the Liber Linteus (10.5)) and acn-s . priumn-es "the agon of Priam" on the left side of the Volterna urn.[43]

iśvei tule ilucve anp[ili]e laruns ilucu huχ

śanti huri alχu esχaθ canulis

mulu/¹⁹ri zile zizri

inpa ...an acasri

tiniantule leθamsul ilucu perpri

śanti arvus/²⁰ta aius nunθeri

Larun, Canuli, Tinia, and Aiu are names of Etruscan gods; huχ may mean "celebrate", alχu "given," esχaθ "bring, place"; arvusta "(produce of the) field" (compare Umbrian arvam "field"; arvia "fruits of the field, grain").[44][45] Other words have either already been defined above or are of uncertain meaning.