Messapic and Latin at Grotta Poesia: New Inscriptions and Old Linguistic Puzzles

Grotta Poesia (Apulia) has recently yielded a number of newly identified Messapic inscriptions that drastically expand the linguistic corpus of a language still only partially understood. This talk, which draws from new work carried out within the “Uncovering Messapic Texts: Inscriptions from Grotta Poesia project (John Fell Fund, 2024–25 and AWRC), presents selected texts and discusses their relevance for the Messapic language and for the linguistic landscape of southern Apulia. Some newly documented Latin inscriptions from the same site will also be presented, whose clearer linguistic structure and formulaic patterns provide an internal point of comparison for the Messapic material. Read against the shared cultic and epigraphic context of Grotta Poesia, these Latin texts help constrain the interpretation of Messapic formulae and recurring elements. The aim is to demonstrate how incremental additions to the corpus – analysed within a rigorous philological framework – can produce genuine advances in the linguistic interpretation of Messapic, even in the absence of bilingual documents.

Members of the Cluster are invited to the reserved AWRC lunch table in Hall starting at 12.30 to meet Michele. Michele’s talk in the Levett Room at 1:15 will be catered with cake and tea/coffee (all welcome).