The Mars of Todi is a large bronze figure of a warrior, believed to have been made in Etruria for the Umbrian tribe and dating back to the late 5th or early 4th century BCE. It was discovered near Todi, on the slope of Montesanto, on the property of the Franciscan Convent of Montesanto. The statue is currently in the possession of the Museo Etrusco Gregoriano, which is a part of the Vatican Museums.
The statue is thought to have been an expensive offering, possibly to the Etruscan god of war, Laran, and was likely placed at a religious sanctuary. It had been buried under travertine stones, possibly as part of a ritual, and was left undisturbed until its discovery in 1835. The statue is considered one of the finest examples of “prestige” works from Etruria found in Umbria during this period and is believed to have come from a workshop in Orvieto, which was known for producing bronze sculptures.
The inscription is located on the lower part of the breastplate, and it is written in Umbrian using Etruscan characters. This marks the beginning of the epigraphic tradition in this area of Umbria. As for the meaning of the text, scolars believe that it was written by a man Celtic origin, not Etruscan. They explain this annomaly by a fact that Tuder was cosmopolitan city during the Archaic period.
The inscription is inetrpreted as “Ahal Trutitis dunum dede“, which translates to “Ahal Trutitis gave [this as a] gift“.
Questioning the commonly accepted translation
At first glance, it appears that the Mars of Todi was a votive figure placed in a temple as part of a religious ritual, and the initial interpretation of its message seems appropriate, albeit somewhat unremarkable. However, there are several important issues with this translation that need to be addressed.
Firstly, there do not seem to be any historical records that mention individuals named Ahal and Trutius. The names only appear in the inscription on the Mars of Todi statue.
Secondly, the origin of the sound value “D” in the inscription “dunum dede” is unexplainable. None of the Old-Italic scripts indicate the use of this letter in this manner, and this speculation appears to be more of a hopeful assumption than a scientifically grounded approach. For this reason, you will also see the text transcribed as AHALTRUTITISRUNUMRERE, with note that “runum rere” means the same as the Latin “donum dedit”.
Questioning a few sound values
The first sound value that I find questionable is the “H” in “Ahal”. Indeed, this letter is often read as H in Italic scripts.
However, it is also a fact that the Umbrian word: ???????????????????????????????? (struhçla), ???????????????????????????? (struçla), struśla, strusla (acc.sg.), ???????????????????????????????????? (struhçlas), marked a “kind of sacrificial cake”. This word sounds very close to the modern German, strudel – also designating a type of layered pastry.
This got me thinking, can we find a modern German word that would match the word AHAL, but read as ADAL? And indeed, there is such word, and it means “noble’. See here.
I will read the rest of the inscription without any changes, just with different word breaks, as the words are not clearly separated in the original inscription. My reading will break the words in places where the size of the letters changes. This is an approach that I have already tried in many other inscriptions, and it often gives good results.
My Translation With Each Word Explained
Adal – Noble, from German “adal”, noble. See here.
Trutiu – Germanic personal name, from “þrūþiz” – strength. See here.
Isrun – Another Germanic personal name, well-attested.
Umrere – Of the Umbrians. Another Etruscan inscription [az96], translates the word umrane as “Umbrian”. I believe that what we have here is the same word, just with a different suffix. My guess would be “The Umbrian” or “of the Umbrians”.
My translation of the Todi inscription would therefore read:
For noble Truti, from Isrun, the Umbrian.
Final Thoughts
It is clear that the individuals in question were likely Celts of Germanic stock, as indicated by the word “adel” – noble, and names “Truti” and “Isrun,” which all have strong Germanic roots.
The proposed translation, “For noble Truti, from Isrun, the Umbrian,” aligns well with the well-accepted ideas about the cosmopolitan nature of ancient Todi, reflecting the rich tapestry of influences in the region. And funny enough, it looks like even the word “strudel” would have been familiar to the ancient Umbrians.
