Botorrita plaque facts for kids
The Botorrita plaques are four special bronze tablets found in a place called Botorrita in Spain. They were discovered near the city of Zaragoza and are very old, dating back to the late 2nd century BC (which is over 2,100 years ago!). These plaques are known as Botorrita I, II, III, and IV.
Two of these plaques, Botorrita I, III, and IV, are super important because they are written in the Celtiberian language. This was the language spoken by the Celtiberians, an ancient group of people who lived in parts of Spain. The writing on these plaques uses the Celtiberian script. Botorrita II is different because it's written in Latin, the language of the ancient Romans. Together, these plaques give us a lot of information about the Celtiberian language, which helps historians and linguists understand more about this ancient culture.
Contents
Botorrita I: The Longest Celtiberian Text
Botorrita I was found in 1970 and is the longest text ever discovered in the Celtiberian language. It has writing on both sides. The front side has 11 lines of text, and the back side has a long list of names.
Experts believe this plaque might be a set of rules or an agreement made by the Celtiberian people. It talks about things like boundaries and what is allowed or not allowed. The list of names on the back could be related to these rules, perhaps listing people involved in the agreement or a group of citizens.
Botorrita II: A Roman Legal Case
This bronze plaque, also called the Tabula Contrebiensis, is written in Latin. It was found in 1979 at the same ancient site. This plaque tells us about a legal dispute, like a court case, that happened a very long time ago in 87 BC.
The story on Botorrita II is about a disagreement between different towns. The town of Salluia wanted to build a canal (a waterway) through the land of another group called the Sosinestani. However, a neighboring town, the Allauonenses, didn't like this idea and objected.
The senate (a council of leaders) of Contrebia Belaisca was asked to decide the case. The plaque explains that the judges had to figure out if the Sosinestani had the right to sell their land to Salluia for the canal, even if the Allavonenses disagreed. The judges also had to decide if Salluia could build the canal through public or private land, as long as they paid for it fairly.
In the end, the decision was made in favor of Salluia, meaning they were allowed to build their canal. The plaque even lists the names of the Contrebian officials who were in charge at that time. This plaque is a great example of how legal matters were handled in ancient times and shows the influence of Roman law.
Botorrita III: A List of Names
Botorrita III was discovered in 1979. This plaque has writing arranged in four columns on one side, starting with a short heading. Although a part of the plaque is missing, the written section that remains is complete. It was very hard to read because it was badly corroded (rusted), and scientists had to use X-rays to see the text clearly!
This plaque is mostly a long list of names. It's thought to be a record of people, perhaps a census (a count of the population), a list of citizens, or even a list of people who contributed to something important in the community. Each entry usually includes a person's name and then a group or family name they belonged to.
Botorrita IV: More Fragments of History
Botorrita IV was found in 1994. This plaque has 18 lines of text on both sides, but it's very broken and only small pieces of the writing remain. Like Botorrita I and III, this plaque is also written in the Celtiberian language. Even though it's incomplete, it still gives us valuable clues about the Celtiberian language and their way of life.
See also
In Spanish: Bronces de Botorrita para niños
